Nine Years Ago
by Princess Serena IV
Summary: Don and Charlies sister leaves Washington D.C. for L.A. What brought her here and what will she do when a face from her past returns? Ian/OC
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer:I Own Annabelle and TJ. No One Else_

_Chapter 1_

_Nine Years Ago_

_Anna winced as the ER doctor stitched up the jagged cut that ran from her hip to underneath her breast. She was painfully aware of her senior officer watching her. She refused to meet his eye. She knew what his face would look like. Hard stone, granite. His eyes, dark as coal would be filled with disappointment and a little worry. He wouldn't say anything till she got stitched up. He would store it all up for when he got her alone. God, she just couldn't deal with him right now. Her head was throbbing from where she'd knocked it against the asphalt. _

"_You'll need to keep these bandages clean and dry," the doctor said. "There's no concussion, by some miracle. You've got a hard head Agent Graves." Anna ignored the look he gave her. _

"_You'll need to come back in a week to get these stitches removed…" The doctor rambled off instructions as she stared at the floor. There was no need to listen to the doctor, she knew he was filing away everything the doctor said. He would make certain she followed them to the letter. He was like that with all his agents but in her case he was particularly overprotective. There were times when she appreciated it. It reminded her of her older brothers. But right now it was only going to mean trouble for her. _

"_I'd recommend Ibuprofen for the headache. And just take it easy." She stood up and buttoned her blouse trying to fight back the wave of nausea._

"_She'll need someone to take her home and stay with her." Anna gritted her teeth._

"_I'll take care of her, Doc," he said his voice annoyingly calm. _

"_Very well," the doctor said signing off on her chart. "We'll see you back here in a week Agent Graves." Anna grunted an affirmative and pulled on her jacket. He offered no assistance, he knew she would only shove him off. _

"_Let's go," he said firmly. She did not argue, it would be pointless. They went to his car, the same one he had brought her here in, her protesting all the way. They didn't speak in the car. She leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes._

"_Don't fall asleep," he said. _

"_The doc said there's no concussion," she said._

"_I want you wide awake for what I plan to say once we get you home." She leaned against the door and rubbed her forehead. He turned off at an exit. _

"_This isn't the way to my place," she said softly. He knew that. _

"_I'm not taking you to your place," he said. Her heart thudded in her chest. His place. His turf. Where he had home court advantage. She rubbed her eyes. She hated feeling vulnerable, especially to him. When he stepped into the training room at Quantico she had felt intimidated by him. He commanded that from the people around him. He was a force of nature and not someone you should tangle with. He was like a panther. Lean, slick, and just waiting to pounce at the right moment. And you would never see it coming. She had drawn on his knowledge soaking up everything she could. He had taught her well. At only twenty-three years old she was one of the best profilers in the country. Her accomplishments, according to the higher ups were nothing short of extraordinary considering how young she was. Reaching the extraordinary at a young age ran in her family, she explained with a laugh. Well, she hadn't been so extraordinary tonight. She had fucked up big time and three people were dead because of it. Two agents and a hostage. She'd been so sure she'd had the guy. The profile was textbook. Four hours she'd spent talking to him, trying to get him to release the hostages in the bank. She shouldn't have gone in the bank. The second she had surrendered control he'd had her. She'd gotten him into the sniper's sights so he could take the shot, but not before he'd nearly killed her. He'd told her not to go into the bank. She'd been so sure that she was reaching the guy. She glanced up as the car stopped. She followed him into the building. It was old, run down. She was sure he could afford better, but knew that he lived here by choice. It was almost scary how she knew him. The same way he knew her. It didn't just come from profiling, though he had done that more than once. It came from being in tuned with each other. From the first moment their eyes locked on each other it was like their minds were travelling on the same wavelength. In the field they could predict each other's moves, read each other's thoughts with just a gesture. She didn't have a lot of contacts here in Washington, nor did he. Her parents and older brother were in LA while her other brother was in New Mexico. He didn't have any family that she knew of. Both of them were loners at heart and had very few friends outside of work. That could be why she had latched onto him. They had become more than mentor and pupil. More like the same soul inhabiting two different bodies. The rode the rickety elevator in silence to his floor. They stepped out into the hallway. He pulled his key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He pushed it open and stared at her meaningfully. Lowering her head she entered the apartment. She'd been here one or two times before, mostly work related matters with the occasional beer as friends. He went to the kitchen and returned with two pills and a glass of water._

"_Take these," he said. God, couldn't he just get on with the ripping her a new asshole. Did he have to prolong the agony. She grabbed the pills from his hand and popped them into her mouth. She took the water and downed it in one gulp. She stared at him, waiting. _

"_Sit," he said pointing to a chair. _

"_I"ll stand," she said tiredly._

"_Fine," he said. He stepped away from her and ran a hand through his hair._

"_You want to tell me now what the HELL you were thinking!" he said. His voice was too calm. Always that calm. Why couldn't he scream at her like a normal person would right now. _

"_I screwed up," she said trying to keep her voice from trembling. "I made the wrong call. I thought I had this guy. I was wrong. I made a mistake."_

"_You disobeyed a direct order," he said. "You were specifically told NOT to go into that bank." Anna ran her hand through her hair. _

"_He would have killed that woman if I hadn't gone into the bank," she said weakly. _

"_You got the profile wrong," he said. "You got two agents and a hostage shot and nearly got killed yourself!"_

"_Montgomery and Walsh were my fault! Grace Nichols, mother of two is dead because I screwed up! I admit it! They are dead because of me and I have to live with that. There is not a god damned thing you could say to me that could possibly make me feel lower than I already do!"_

"_You don't get it do you!" he shouted making her jump. He seized her shoulders making her wince. _

"_I saw him stab you! I thought I was gonna be burying you next week right along with Montgomery and Walsh. I've never been so terrified in my life, Annabelle." It was the use of her full name that shocked any response from her. He loosened his hold on her shoulders and gently cupped her face in both hands._

"_Don't you understand?" he said his voice so soft, so gentle he made her knees go weak._

"_I would die if anything happened to you." Her heart thudded in her chest. She had been sexually attracted to him for a long time, but a woman would have to be blind, crazy or gay not to be. But it had been that raw desire for the untamable beast that all women wanted but no woman could catch. And yet here he was looking at her with such desire and heat that she felt scalded to her bones. His mouth came down on hers, hard, desperate, punishing. There was no passion in it, just raw steely desire. She threw her arms around his neck pulling him closer, deeper. Burning heat pooled in her belly as he devoured her mouth. His hands were fisted in her hair so tight it made her scalp hurt. She did not care. She wanted to feel him. She grabbed his shirt and yanked it over his head. His body was like chiseled granite. She ran her hands over him memorizing him. Learning his skin. Every bump, every scar. He had so many scars. A bullet just under his left peck, a knife slash just above his third rib, whip marks criss crossing over his back. He pushed her jacket roughly off her shoulders and ripped open her blouse. His hands were all over her, grabbing, kneading, pinching. He clamped his mouth over the joint between her neck and shoulder. She gasped as he bit her, marking her as his. Her gasp turned to a moan as he sucked on the skin drawing blood to the surface. He lifted her and her legs went around his waist. All she could think as he carried her into the bedroom was that this was a mistake, but damned if she gave a shit. He laid her on the bed and stood up. She stared, mesmerized at the hard chiseled body as he removed his clothes. He was huge, and hard. The thought of him inside her made her tremble. He came down over top of her seizing her mouth. His hands stroked down her sides being careful of her wound. She bit her lip as he unbuttoned her pants and slid them down her legs. She was shaking as his hands removed the last barrier between them. She tossed back her head had he nibbled around her thighs and ran his tongue over her sweet spot. _

"_Oh God," she moaned gripping the blankets. He was driving her mad with desperation and need. _

"_Inside me!" she begged. "Please dear GOD!" He slammed his mouth against hers as he thrust inside her. Her hands dug into his back as he slammed into her again and again and again. Her mind was going to explode with ecstasy. He was driving her insane!_

"_IAN!!!!!" she screamed as her orgasm crashed around her._

_LIke it? Hate it? More to come_


	2. Chapter 2

_Italics mean the past_

Plain text mean the present

_2 years ago_

_She was going back. After all this time she was going home to the place where she grew up. She didn't know if she was more scared or excited. She had good memories of LA. She also had some not so good memories. The last time she'd been home had been for her mother's funeral. God, that was almost three years ago. It had been such a terrible time. She hadn't been able to be there for her family during those last months. The look in Don's eyes, the look of disappointment, betrayal. She'd thought of all people he would understand. He knew what the job was. But he had come home, she hadn't. But things got better. Through phone calls and email they'd reconnected. He seemed genuinely glad she was coming home. She didn't know how he would feel when he found out about the reason she was coming home. Charlie and her Dad were happy though. She grinned a little as she remembered her last phone conversation with her father. He was so excited. He hated that she had to live so far away. He said he couldn't wait to see her. She shook her head. Her dad couldn't fool her. It was TJ he really was looking forward to seeing. She glanced at the sleeping seven year old who was curled up in the passenger seat. He had conked out about twenty miles back after stuffing himself full of McDonald's French fries. She took her hand from the steering wheel and ran it over his hair. She knew she was biased, but she truly believed that her son was the greatest kid in the world. She felt guilty about pulling him out of New York, the only home he'd ever known. But he'd taken it okay, grinned and went along. She was doing a good thing for him, she told herself. She'd been raising him by herself since he was born. It had been the hardest choice she'd ever had to make, but it was what was best. She had done okay by him. She made sure he had everything he needed. She'd made a home for them, made sure he was healthy and happy. Most of all she made sure she kept her work away from him. It would be good for him to be around his grandfather and uncles. Between her job and taking care of TJ, she really did not have a lot of time for dating. There was no positive male role model in TJ's life. She sighed. It had been her choice. It had been the right choice. Leaving Washington, leaving him. She stroked his hair._

"_You're all that matters to me my baby," she said._

Present Day

"Come on TJ!" Anna shouted. "We're gonna be late!" She was trying to strap on her gun, pull on her shoes, and down her coffee all at the same time.

"I'm can't find my math book!" the nine year old boy yelled from his bedroom.

"It's on the counter," she called. She checked her phone. Damn, Don had already called twice.

"Hurry up bubba," she called. "I gotta get to work." Her son came out of his bedroom, thank god he was dressed in clean clothes for once.

"Here," she said handing him his math book. "Take this, we'll eat in the car." She handed him a bagel and ran a quick brush over his hair.

"Mom, do you really think Uncle Don would fire you for being late?" Anna tipped her head.

"Fair point," TJ said pulling on his jacket. She threw her stuff into the back seat and once she was certain he was wearing his seatbelt put the car into drive and headed for TJ's school.

"Okay, your grandpa is gonna pick you up and take you to basketball practice. Bobby Johnson's mother is gonna drop you off at Uncle Charlie's house."

"When will you be home?"

"I don't know, baby," she said. "Your uncle Don's paged me twice, that says there's probably something big happening. Grandpa will give you dinner if I can't okay."

"Okay," he said. She reached over and grabbed his shoulder.

"Hey," she said gently. He turned his big brown eyes to her. It was like looking into a mirror sometimes. Her dark eyes, her long slightly upturned nose, high cheekbones, and heart shaped face. His hair and skin tone was darker than hers and the shape of his eyes…God sometimes it hurt to think about it.

"You're the most important thing in the world to me," she said. "You know that right?"

"I know Mom,"he said.

"I love you," she said. He grinned. God that smile melted her everytime. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. He let out the protesting squeal that she knew was obligatory for nine year olds to make when their mother's were kissing them.

"Get out of my car, runt," she said. She watched him all the way into the school. The ring of her phone brought her back to reality.

"Yeah, Don," she said. "I'm on my way."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I only own Anna and TJ.

She pulled up in front of the two story house. Her mind was already working the scene. It was familiar. Middle class suburbian neighborhood, neighbors keeping their distance from the house, staring at it in disgust. Thinking he got what was coming to him. She flashed her badge to the uniform on the door and entered the house. Colby was there examining the body.

"Same as the others?" she asked. He glanced up at her and shook his head.

"Messier," he said. "And it didn't stop with the kidneys this time." The corpse had been torn open and hallowed out.

"Geeze," she said grimly. "Looks like they took everything."

"We won't know till the autopsy the total of what got taken," Colby said.

"I don't need an autopsy to tell me what isn't there," Anna said. Don entered at that moment.

"You're late," he said but his tone said he wasn't mad.

"What can I say?" she said. "Your nephew takes after you." He squeezed her shoulder lightly and she knew all was forgiven. David entered at that moment.

"Victim's name is John O'donnell. Registered sex offender, moved into the neighborhood two weeks ago."

"Neighbors tell you anything?" Don asked.

"Only that "pervert got what he deserved," David said. "Direct quote."

"What was he on the list for?" Anna asked. David consulted his notes.

"Statutory rape," he said. Anna pressed her lips together. Their killer was escalating. Seven victims so far. All registered sex offenders. The first one had been down for exposing himself to a minor. The seriousness of the offenses these men had committed had gotten more serious as the bodies stacked up. Child pornography, soliciting a minor, and now statutory rape.

"The crimes are getting more severe," Colby voiced her thoughts.

"So are the punishments," Anna said.

Don peered into the conference room where his sister stood staring at the photos of their eight victims. He'd come to know that stance very well. Arms crossed over her chest, spine straight, legs slightly apart. Her lips were pursed tightly together. She was in profiler mode. One thing he had learned very early on since they began the boss/employee relationship; you did not interrupt her when she was in profiler mode. Two years ago when she'd come home to LA he'd have never thought having her work for him would be anything but a disaster. It hadn't been easy. Having both his siblings working for him had been a challenge, particularly when Charlie's number theories conflicted with Anna's profile. Those two butted heads so much it was a wonder they didn't have permanent dents in their foreheads. But they made it work and his team was stronger for it. She was damn good at what she did. When she'd packed her bags for Quantico two days after high school graduation the whole family had been stunned. Dad had blamed him, Mom had cried, Charlie had gone all math talk, but Don had just felt stone cold fear. He'd seen what the job was, what it could do to a person. He hadn't wanted that for his baby sister. But somehow she'd managed not only to do the job and not let it harden her, but she'd managed to raise a kid by herself and keep her work separate from her home life. Whatever hard feelings Anna's career choice had put between her and Dad, all had been forgiven when she came home for the old man's birthday with a six month old grandson for him. He'd never tell her, but he loved having Anna and TJ living so close. He had missed her like crazy all those years she'd been in D.C. and New York. And he was nuts about that boy. The whole team had semi-adopted TJ and he knew anyone of them would lay their life down to keep him safe. With no father in the picture he, Charlie, Colby, and David had done what they could to fill that void. Megan and Amita were surrogate moms when Anna couldn't be there. That kid would never want for love and attention as long as they drew breath. The father was a big mystery that not even Charlie's math could solve. 'A guy I hooked up with in D.C.' was all they could get out of her. She had unclenched her arms and was pointing from one picture to the next. That was the sign it was safe to speak.

"What's the word baby girl?" he asked. She glared at him. She hated the nickname he'd been calling her since she was six.

"It's the escalation," she said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "There's something off about it. Look." She pointed to a picture of the first murder.

"The first murder," she said. "Surgical precision. Clean, neat, goes in removes just a kidney. Stitches the guy up, shoots him up with antibiotics. Our killer's gone from surgery to butchery."

"So?" Don said. "Like you said he's escalating."

"We've pretty much agreed that our killer has medical training right?"

"Yeah," Don said. Anna put her hands over her mouth and focused on the photos.

"The first one," she said. "It's deliberate, specific, careful. These later ones are chaotic, disorganized. It's like he started with a purpose and it's just escalated to pure rage."

"You think these guys are getting their organs taken as a punishment?"

"Think about it," she said. "All these guys, sex offenders, no brand of criminal is more hated in this world. Most people feel they don't deserve to live."

"They don't…"Don said hesitantly. "But maybe our guy thinks someone else does."

"Our first guy, Quentin Fish," she said yanking the photo down. "We need to check hospitals, see if anyone on the waiting list for a kidney suddenly received one around the time he was murdered. "

"We've got Fish's DNA on file," Don said. "So we can narrow it down to receivers who'd be a match. That's good."

After four hours and several pots of coffee they were no closer to catching their killer.

"Okay," Don said running a hand through his hair. "We've got twenty potential matches to Fish's DNA but no record of anyone receiving a kidney transplant."

"Okay," Anna said. David, Megan and Colby exchanged a look as Anna ran a hand through her hair identical to the way Don just had. It was fun being on Team Eppes.

"Let's go back to the actual murder. We've got a guy who society considers lower than dirt, and somewhere out there we've got a patient in need of a kidney."

"Not just any kidney," David said. "A kidney that matches Fish's DNA."

"So we've got a doctor, in need of a specific kidney," Colby said. "So the receiver of this kidney was probably a friend, or a relative."

"Or maybe…" Anna said slowly looking at the list of patients. "A patient." All three men looked at her.

"Think about it," she said. "You're a doctor, you have a very sick patient. Probably one you've been treating a long time. You try everything you can to keep them alive but bottom line is they need a new kidney and their just are not that many available."

"Right," Don said. "Doctor's are supposed to remained detached but you treat a patient long enough you start to feel for them."

"Especially if the patient is a child," she said holding up the list. "Tim Hardwicke, twelve years old been on dialysis since he was eight. According to this he'd been in the hospital for the last month awaiting a transplant. Was discharged from the hospital four days after Fish's murder but there's no record of him having surgery. A kid that sick, they wouldn't just send him home."

"If you've got an organ you just stole from a body you're not gonna want people asking where you found it," Megan said.

"Or risk someone else getting it. Tim Hardwicke had three people in front of him on the transplant list."

"Who was Tim's surgeon?" Don asked.

"Dr. Philip Lipton," she said.

"All right," Don said. "David, Colby I want to talk to this Doctor Lipton. See what he knows about his patient's miraculous recovery."

"On it," Colby said.

Anna stared through the one way window at Philip Lipton. The man was in his late forties and starting to go bald. He had sat calmly while David questioned him. When they'd gotten to the subject of Tim Hardwicke the man had broken down and confessed to stealing Fish's kidney. He'd known Fish was a match because the man had been given a blood transfusion at the hospital where Lipton worked after being shanked by a fellow inmate in prison.

"Four years, I treated Tim," Lipton said running his hands over his eyes. "I watched that sweet beautiful kid get sicker and sicker. No child should have to go through that. He should be playing soccer, and running around with his friends. Fish was a sick twisted human being. Why should he live with two perfect healthy kidney's when Tim can't even get out of bed."

"So you drugged Fish, you took out his kidney, put it in a cooler, patched Fish up. Then you took the kidney to the hospital and did the transplant. I'm guessing that Tim's parents didn't ask any questions."

"They were just so happy when I told them I had a kidney for Tim," Lipton said. "I didn't keep a record. I knew there'd be too many questions."

"So you saved Tim," David said. "And then you think to yourself, why stop here. So many people on that transplant list that need healthy organs. So many out there who don't deserve healthy organs. So you do it again, only this time you don't just take a kidney, you take both kidneys, a liver, a lung, a heart. Eventually you stop caring how much damage you're doing to the criminals whose organs you're stealing and you just slice em up and leave em."

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Lipton said. "I couldn't do that. I couldn't kill someone. I did everything I could to render no permanent damage to Fish, but I'm not a murderer." Anna was staring at the man hard. She turned away from the window and went back to the evidence room. Something didn't quite fit.

"Hey," Don said as she passed him. "What's going on?"

"How many surgeons does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" she said.

"What?" Don looked at her like she was crazy.

"He didn't kill the others," Anna said.

"Whoah," Don said. "What are you talking about? You're the one who pointed us to this guy."

"Oh he killed the first guy, no doubt about it. But remember what I said about escalation. How it's gone from surgery to pure rage." She stepped into the evidence room. As horrid as these pictures were they helped her tune in to the killer.

"Lipton did everything in his power not to do more harm to Fish than necessary. To him Fish was a sick twisted bastard but he was still a human. The man in that room with David, he cares about human life. He showed remorse. Whoever did this," she pointed to the more recent photos. "They don't give a crap about the human being."

"You think we're looking at a copycat?" Don asked. Anna shook her head.

"Not just any copycat," she said. "Look at the timing of the first two attacks. Just days apart."

"So if Fish didn't do the second killing…" She stared at him hard.

"Original question," she said.

"How many surgeons does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"

"One surgeon," Anna said. "And at least one nurse."

Don watched as 35 year old Lisa Howard, Lipton's scrub nurse for the last five years, was loaded into the back of the FBI vehicle. Howard had assisted Lipton in the black market surgery, and decided that her boss had the right idea. When they'd confronted her with guns drawn, her newest victim had been cuffed to the bed and she hadn't even bothered to knock him out this time. She'd had the scalpel poised and ready. It didn't look like there was gonna be any choice but the take her down. Don glanced over where Anna leaned against the hood of her car. She had blown his mind in there. Her voice steady and calm she'd slowly approached the bed. He'd never forget the look on everyone's face as Anna calmly reminded Howard that this was not the man who raped her.

"How'd you know?" he asked her as sat beside her. She smiled a little.

"The way she said 'he deserves it'. She wasn't talking about the guy on the bed. It was personal for her."

"You got all that from one word?" he said incredulously. She shrugged.

"That and I got lucky," she said. He laughed and bumped her shoulder.

"You keep this up and our bullets are gonna get rusty from lack of use."

"Aw, don't feel bad Donnie," she said with a smile. "There's still plenty of crazies out there who can't be talked down." She frowned a bit and rubbed her side. He'd never asked her about the long scar that ran from her hip to under her arm. He could only assume that it was from a 'crazy who couldn't be talked down.'

"Listen, why don't you take tomorrow off," he said. She tilted her head.

"I thought we agreed no special treatment," she said.

"It's not special treatment," he said. "You earned it. Spend some time with your son." She smiled. He knew that would get her.

"Hello!" Anna called as she entered her childhood home which now belonged to her brother.  
"Hi Mom," TJ waved from the couch. She went over to where her son and her father sat and plopped down in the big easy chair. She smiled when she saw the chess board.

"Who's winning?" she asked as she slipped off her shoes.

"My grandson is beating the pants off me," Alan said. "I swear he's been getting lessons from Charlie." TJ shook his head.

"Uncle Charlie never taught me chess. He's too afraid I'll get good and whomp him." Anna laughed and ruffled his hair.

"How'd basketball practice go?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Coach says I need to work on my layup," he said. "Check."

"Well maybe we'll go to the park tomorrow," she said. "Work on it together."

"Don't you have to work?"

"Because I was so nice to your Uncle Don today, solving his big case for him, he let me have tomorrow off."

"Sweet!" TJ pumped his fist in the air. "Checkmate!" Alan groaned as TJ high fived his mother and did a victory strut.

"Ah!" Alan said. "Defeated by my own grandson." TJ laughed.

"We need to get going, pal," Anna said. "Grab your stuff."

"Okay mom," TJ said scampering upstairs. Once he was out of earshot she shot her father a look.

"What?" he said feigning innocence.

"You let him win," she said. He father looked incredulous.

"Me?" She rolled her eyes.

"Dad, come on," she said. "My boy has many talents, chess aint' one of 'em."

"All right," Alan admitted. "So I let him win. Do you know how long it's been since I've gotten to _let_ my chess opponent win." Anna laughed.

"So you got your guy huh?" he asked clearing up the chess board.

"Woman actually," she said.

"Really?" Alan said. "A woman."

"A very angry woman," she said. "We were able to bring her in."

"No bullets?" She nodded.  
"Nope," she said. "When's Charlie coming back from that conference?"

"Day after tomorrow, why?"

"Just want to know how long I have to wait before I can brag that we solved this one without any of his wacky algorithms." She said stretching her arms above her head.

"You know as crazy as Charlie's math may sound it does actually work," Alan said dryly.

"I'm not saying it hasn't helped us catch criminals," Anna said. "But he acts like it's the end all be all of life. Despite what Charlie believes everything is NOT numbers."

"It's nice to know some things never change," Alan said. "You remember when you were sixteen and you were dating that kid Jeffrey Logan?"

"Yeah," Anna said scoffing. "And after meeting him one time Charlie showed me a formula predicted that he was gonna dump me. I was so ticked off that I punched him in the eye."

"And then when it actually happened you punched him in the other eye," Alan said.

"You'd think he'd learn to duck," Anna said with a laugh. "But of course he never thought he'd get hit again because there was only a 22 percent probability of my taking my anger at being dumped out on him."

"You know I had a lot of objections when Charlie started helping out Don."

"I did hear something of that nature," Anna said.

"But after the first couple cases I realized that working together was what made them brothers again. I was just hoping that when you came back and started working for Don that it might have the same effect."

"Oh, come on Dad," Anna said waving off her father's concerns. "Charlie and I are doing fine. I may not agree with his method's but he and I are closer than we ever were. I mean we talk!" Alan laughed.

"Yeah, yeah," Alan said soberly. "You know, leaving you here in LA and going to Princeton with Charlie, it was a hard decision for your mom."

"Yeah I know that."

"We thought that staying where you'd grown up, where all your friends were, we thought it was what's best for you." Anna stared at the floor. She would never admit how hard it was not having her mother around during her teenage years. She'd harbored a lot of resentment toward her parents and Charlie for a long time.

"_Why can't I come with you?"_

"_Annabelle we talked about this. Your father and I decided that the best thing is for me to go with Charlie to Princeton and for you to stay here."_

"_Everything is always about Charlie! Charlie is so special. Charlie is so smart. 'Sorry we missed your ballet recital Anna but we had to have meeting with Charlie's teacher.' Charlie's the only kid you care about! Why didn't you just stop having kids after he was born?"_

God, it was one of the hardest times in her life. She was used to her genius older brother getting all the attention, but when she was younger she'd at least had Don to look out for her. But Don was going off to college. She'd had Dad but he was always busy at work. Those years she'd learned how to be independent. To stand on her own and be dependent on no one but herself. As an adult she wasn't much different. That was why she hadn't told her parents or Don and Charlie when she got pregnant. They would have wanted her to come home, so they could help her and she did not want or need their help. Lord, how shocked had they been the first time they met TJ. Dad had just been happy to have a grandchild but Mom…the look she'd given Anna when she'd introduced her to her grandson had been one of sadness. Not that Anna had a child, but that the distance between them had become so great that Anna hadn't told her. The truth was that TJ had done more to bridge the gap between Anna and her mother than anyone. Having a child had helped her understand what it meant to be a parent and have to make tough decisions.

"I know you and Mom did what you thought was best, Dad," Anna said. "I guess it took being a mom to understand. God, I wonder every day if I'm making the right decisions for my son."

"You're doing a great job, Anna," Alan said. "You are a wonderful mother and you are raising one hell of a great kid." Anna smiled.

"Thanks Dad," she said. TJ came back at that moment.

"Ready," he said.

"Give your Grampa a hug," she told him. TJ went to the couch and threw his arms around Alan.

"Night Gramps," he said.

"Night Mr. Wizard," Alan said rustling TJ's hair. "You take good care of your Mom you hear." TJ grinned and Anna shook her head. Her boy was nine years old and already trying to be man of the house. He required no encouragement from his granddad and uncles. She gave her dad a kiss on the cheek, thanked him for taking care of TJ and they headed to the car. Once they got home she gave TJ a bath and tucked him into bed.

"You have a good time with Grandpa?" she asked as she tucked the blankets around him.

"Yeah," TJ said. "He got a real kick out of helping me with my math homework." Anna grinned.  
"That's cause your Uncle Charlie never needed his help with math."

"What about you?" Anna grinned.

"Your old mom never needed help. She knows everything don't you know that." TJ gave her a look.

"Yeah right," he said. "Uncle Don says you were so stubborn as a kid you wouldn't even ask for help if your leg was chopped off." Note to self, smack Don upside the head.

"Yeah, well your Uncle Don was worse," she said. TJ giggled.

"So other than needing to work on your layup," she said. "How's everything going with you?" TJ shrugged.

"Don't give me that shrug," she said tickling him. "I invented that shrug. What's up?" TJ looked down at this covers.

"TJ," Anna said tipping his chin up.

"Troy Deebus said I'll never be as good a basketball player as him cause I don't have a dad to teach me how to do it right." Anna clenched her fist in the boys blankets. It wasn't the first time the issue had come up. Mrs. Gracin had gotten a very angry phone call from her the day TJ came home in tears because her son Bobby had told TJ he was a bastard because he didn't have a dad.

"I wanted to hit him, but I didn't." TJ continued. "I told him I had four uncles to teach me, but I didn't even need them cause my mom could wipe the floor with him any day of the week." He smiled proudly at the declaration. Anna smiled.

"That was good baby," she said. "You should never resolve your problems with violence. What am I always telling your Uncle Don?"

"Physical force should always be a last resort," TJ said.

"That's right," she said. "Glad to know you listen better than your uncle." TJ grinned. Anna felt something twinge inside her. That grin. Though she loved seeing it, it was always slightly painful.

"All these kids that got two parents," TJ said. "I think I'm luckier than them." Anna's eyes raised.

"How do you figure that?"

"Well," he said freeing his hands from the covers. "They got two people that love them." He held up two fingers to illustrate.

"But I have you, Grandpa, Uncle Don, Uncle Charlie, Aunt Amita, Uncle Colby, Uncle David, Uncle Larry, and Aunt Megan that love me. That's nine people." He held up his nine fingers. " That's like four times as many as most kids got. As least that's what Uncle Charlie says." Note to self, do not pick on Charlie about his numbers for a week.

"Well," Anna said her voice a little choked. "If Uncle Charlie's says so it must be true. Now it's time to go to sleep." She gave him a kiss on top of the head, switched off the lamp, and turned on the nightlight.

"Good night my love," she said from the door.

"Night mom," the sleepy voice said back. She closed the door and hurried down the hall to her room. She collapsed on the bed and buried her face in her hands. The words of both her father and her son were spinning in her head. After a minute she glanced at the clock. 9:00. It would be midnight in D.C. He would be awake. He never went down before 3 am and that's when he wasn't on a case. She sighed. How many times had she stared at the phone over the last nine years just trying to gather enough courage to make the call. Once she'd even gone as far as to dial his number, but she'd hung up before the call could connect. She was being silly. What could possibly be gained after all these years? She got undressed and hopped into the shower. The warm water soothed her aching muscles as it ran over her body. She let the water go till it ran cold and then got out. After drying her hair and brushing her teeth she changed into a pair of gray cotton pjs. She set the alarm and turned off all the lights in the apartment. Before going to bed she checked on her son one more time. He was sound asleep, on his belly with one leg dangling over the side of the bed. She sighed. They were okay. They had everything they needed. There was no sense dwelling on the 'what might have beens.'

MORE TO COME!


	4. Chapter 4

Still don't own Numb3rs. Sad for me

Two weeks later…

Don stared sadly at twenty two year old Denise Young. Killed by a sniper's bullet while unloading her groceries. She lived in this house with two other women, Cheryl Brown and Melissa Everett. Cheryl Brown was the one who had found her. She stood beyond the crime tape, her arms around herself.

"They were more than just roommates," Anna said from where she stood beside him. Don glanced at her.

"Okay, I'll bite," he said.

"The tears," Anna said. "Three women who just happen to live together, they show signs of shock but she's showing genuine emotion. Genuine grief. They were friends."

"Oh my God!" they heard a female's voice shout.

"Melissa!" Cheryl called running to the other woman.

"Cheryl what's going on?" Don saw the two women hug each other.

"Oh God, Denise!" Don glanced at his sister and wondered why he wasted time doubting her.

Don glanced around the house as Colby interviewed the roommates. Anna and Megan had gone with the body. It was neat, tidy, female. There were many photos on the walls, several showing the three women. Anna was right. These three were more than just roommates. They were more like sisters.

"You three were close?" Colby was asking Cheryl and Melissa.

"Since college," Cheryl said. "We bonded over being the only one three non-California girls."

"None of you are from California?"

"Boston," Cheryl said.

"Philadelphia," Melissa said. "Denise was from Baltimore. We pooled our money and bought this house together after we graduated. God, who would want to hurt Denise?"

"Did she have any problems with anyone at work?"  
"Denise worked at a daycare center," Melissa said. "Everybody liked her. The kids, the parents. She was so good with kids."

"What about an ex-boyfriend or…" The two laughed sadly.

"Denise wasn't the type," Cheryl said. "If any of us was gonna hook up with some crazy loser who couldn't handle being dumped it would have been me. Denise, she was the one who stayed home with a book and a pint of rocky road."

"What about Denise's family?"

"She just had her Dad," Melissa said sadly. "He's does repair work in an apartment building in Chicago. God, how are we gonna tell him?"

"According to the roommates this girl was a saint," Colby told Don. They were headed toward the area Charlie's math had predicted the shot came from.

"According to Charlie," Don said. "The shot came from somewhere in his area." It was a small hill overlooking the neighborhood where Denise Young lived.

"I really hope this isn't like the last sniper case I had," Don said.

"The one where Charlie nearly got killed?" Colby asked. He hadn't been part of the team then, but he'd heard about it from David.

"Yep," Don said. "Now I got two younger siblings to worry about, plus a nephew."

"TJ's gonna be fine, Don," Colby said. "Anyone tries to hurt him they'll have to go through all of us. " Don nodded.

"Someone was up here all right," Colby said. "I got boot prints." Don knelt down.

"Best guess, a size 11."

"Pretty close," Colby said.

"I'm out of my liege on this one," Don said. "We're gonna need an expert."

"Ask and you shall receive," a familiar voice said behind them. Don turned with a grin and greeted the tall sniper.

"Ian Edgerton," he said.

"Don Eppes," Ian said shaking the other man's hand. "Always a pleasure. Granger, you too."

"Edgerton," Colby greeted the sniper/tracker whom he had a great deal of respect for.

"Your ears must be ringing man," Don said. "I was just thinking about calling you."

"I was in Vegas," Ian said. "A blackjack dealer, gunned down outside his house. Your victim is the fifth one cut down by this guy."

"Whoah," Don said. "fifth victim. You're sure it's the same guy?"

"Same MO each time. Victims in their twenties to early thirties. Shot outside their homes in broad daylight. So far we haven't been able to make any connections between the vics. I heard we had another vic in LA, thought maybe the professor might be able to help make a connection."

"Yeah," Don said. "Well, let's get back to the office. See what Charlie can tell us."

Ian loved cases that took him to LA. He had a great deal of respect for Don Eppes and his team. Even Charlie, despite their conflicted first meeting, had grown on him. He thought of them more as friends than comrades. He had contacts in other cities but he didn't hang out with them after the case was solved, he wasn't invited to their house for dinner and game of pool. It was weird. He'd been based in D.C. for years but it was never a home to him. Except when…no, best not to think about that.

"Agent Edgerton," the voice of Megan Reeves greeted him.

"Agent Reeves," he greeted her. "Looking much better than the last time I saw you." Megan smiled a little. The last time Ian had seen her she was bleeding to death and Don and David were carrying her out of a cheap motel room.

"Denise Young isn't the sniper's first victim," Don explained.

"What?" Megan said in surprise.

"That fits," David said as he joined them. "Ballistics report. The bullet that killed Denise Young came from the same gun that killed four other people."

"A restaurant manager in Annapolis, librarian in Baton Rouge, lawyer in Salt lake city, black jack dealer in Las Vegas," Ian said.

"And now a day care center worker in LA," Megan said. "What's the connection."

"Well that's what we're here to find out," Don said. "Where's Charlie and Anna?"

"Conference room," David said. "I believe they were arguing over social networking, something, I don't know." Don blanched.

"Do I need to go play referee?"

"I would," David said with a smirk. Don rolled his eyes and strode in the direction of a conference room. Ian gave Megan a curious look.

"Anna? I don't seem to remember an Anna on the team?"

"Anna's joined the team since we last saw you. She's one of the best profilers I've ever met. Puts me to shame."

"That's hard to imagine," Ian said. "I take it she and the professor don't quite see eye to eye." Megan grinned.

"Well they have differing views on how much human behavior can be predicted by using math," Megan said.

"Hey, the guy convinced me, and I'm a hardass." Megan laughed.

"Well, there's also the sibling rivalry element to consider," Colby said with a grin. Ian's eyes shot up.

"Whoah," he said. "Eppes's sister works with him?" He knew that Don and Charlie had a younger sister who was an agent but he'd never met her.

"Yeah," Megan said. "About two years now."

"Well, the Violent Crimes Unit is really becoming a family affair. Surprised the higher ups allowed it." Megan shrugged.

"Well, when you're the best at what you do, the Assistant Director lets you get away with a lot." Ian nodded. He could certainly understand that. He knew perfectly well that he got away with stuff that would have other agents in front of a board of inquiry.

"Actually I'm surprised you haven't met her," Megan said. "Anna used to work in Washington." Ian shrugged.

"Anna Eppes? No, I think I'd remember. The name Eppes kind of would ring a bell."

"Well, she doesn't use the family name. Big brother already an agent, had all the same teachers, "why can't you be more like your brother, you get the idea. She goes by the name Graves. I think it was like her grandma's maiden name or something." At the name 'Graves' Ian felt his heart freeze in his chest. Was it possible? He turned at the sound of Don returning followed by Charlie. There she was. God, it was like he'd gone back in time. She was dressed casually in jeans a turtleneck, and black ankle boots. She was thinner than he remembered and there were a few more lines around her eyes, but she was as beautiful as ever. She was locked in verbal combat with the professor. The fire in her eyes was so familiar.

"Children," Don said in an annoyed tone, "don't make put you in time out." Both glared at him. That was when their eyes met. He watched her reaction as though in slow motion. Her eyes widened, her face flushed. Shock, to embarrassment, to fear. He held her gaze, refusing to look away.

"Agent Edgerton, good to see you," Charlie said coming forward. Ian was forced to take his eyes off her face as he shook the professor's hand.

"You too professor," he said.

"Ian, this is Agent Anna Graves," Don said putting a hand on Anna's shoulder. Anna was biting her lip and looking anywhere but directly at him.

"Nice to see you again, Agent Edgerton," she said stiffly. 'Agent Edgerton,' he thought. So that was how she was gonna play it.

"Likewise, Agent Graves."

"Wait," Don said. "You two know each other?" Anna licked her lips and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Nervous gestures she made when she was extremely uncomfortable.

"Agent Edgerton was one of my instructors at Quantico. We also worked together in D.C."

"I guess I know what you meant when you said reaching the extraordinary at a young age runs in the family," he said. She blushed as red as the turtleneck she wore. He decided to grant her a reprieve from the awkwardness and turned to conversation back to the sniper. There'd be time to talk later.

Once Ian had shared what he knew with the team, everyone went their own ways; and David to re-interview the roommates, Charlie to his blackboard, Don and Megan to dig up what they could on possible connections between the victims. He stood watching her from his vantage point by the coffee pot. She was focused on her computer, her lips pursed and her eyes moving a mile a minute. Every so often she would pause to sip her coffee, or write something down. Every move was so familiar and brought back a flood of memories. They had been so in sync with each other back then. He could tell what she was thinking just by the look in her eyes, or the way she held her body. And she could read him. It had almost been frightening how she knew him, how she could predict his every move. They had made a great team. But it had been so much more than that. Since her first day at Quantico he'd felt this connection to her. Anna'd been like a lot of other new recruits. Joined the FBI out of admiration for a parent or older sibling, estranged from her family who wanted a different life for her, independent, strong willed, and determined to make it in the big leagues. He'd had great respect for her and he would trust her with his life. In the years they'd worked together he'd gotten closer to her than he'd been to anyone in a long time. His father had died when he was in junior high school, his mother shortly after that. In the army he'd seen many friends die, and when he joined the FBI he'd avoided forming any close attachments to any one person. Until Anna. They'd spent many a night just sitting in a diner, or on a park bench, or his apartment just talking. He'd opened up to her the way he'd never been able to open up to anyone. And he'd been her support. After a particularly bad case that had involved the rape and murder of three seven year old girls, he had recognized the signs of an emotional breakdown. He'd taken her away from the office, sat with her on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and just let her talk. After that he'd bought her an ice cream cone and given her a hug. He wasn't a touchy person by nature but he found with her it was okay. He'd come to depend on her, and their friendship. He didn't know when he'd fallen in love with her. When he'd been forced to watch that guy in the bank stab her he had been paralyzed with fear. It was the only time he could ever remember his hands shaking as he held his rifle. He'd needed to touch her, to feel her body just to reassure himself that she was alive. He'd had lovers before her, but no one who had made him feel what he had that night. He'd woken up the next morning to find an empty space beside him. Things had changed for them after that night. She'd been closed off and withdrawn. He knew that losing two agents and a hostage, not to mention being injured herself had shaken her badly but she refused to talk about it. There'd been the normal inquiry and ordered psych evaluation. He hadn't been able to be there for it because a new lead in a cold case had turned up and he'd had to leave for two months tracking a serial killer. He hadn't wanted the assignment, but he hadn't been picking his own cases back then. When he'd come back it was to find her gone. When the Assistant Director had told him that Anna had requested and been granted a transfer to the New York office he felt as though he'd been stabbed in the chest. He couldn't believe it. She'd just left, no goodbye, no see ya later, nothing. He didn't understand it. He'd called her, he must have left her ten messages a day. He'd considered just hopping on a plane to New York, tracking her down, begging for an explanation. Begging her to come back. But he didn't. As desperate, as empty as he felt without her, he couldn't bring himself to go after her. He'd focused on the work. The work occupied his mind and helped him forget the pain. And now nine years later here she was, right in front of him. Right in front of him and out of his reach. And to top it all off she was Eppes's sister. Eppes would kill him if he knew half the thoughts that were going through his head right now. She suddenly sat up straight, tapping her pen against the screen. She had found something. He moved over to her cubicle and slid in behind her. Her spine stiffened and her fingers clenched. She was scared of him. 'Easy honey,' he thought. 'Just working a case here.'

"You got something?" he asked.

"Maybe," she said. "You said the first victim was in Annapolis."

"Ben Rogers," Ian said. "24 years old. Managed a restaurant."

"Denise Young's roommates said she was originally from Baltimore. That's 31 miles from Annapolis. The black jack dealer, Gary Chesterton, moved to Vegas at age 21, before that he lived in New York with his mother, but his father lived in Baltimore they had joint custody. I haven't looked at our lawyer, or librarian what are you willing to bet…"

"That they lived in Baltimore at some point in their young lives?" Ian said. "I'm willing to lay good odds."

"Let's see," she said typing rapidly. "Rachel Mandano, our librarian. Parents died when she was an infant, placed in foster care. One family she lived with, ah ha, Baltimore. She would have been eight."

"Wanna go five for five?" Ian said leaning over so he could look at the screen over her shoulder. She still used the same shampoo. It smelled like plums.

"Your hair's longer," he said. It just popped out. Saying it kept him from reaching out and touching it.

She continued to stare straight forward at the screen but he'd seen the slight tremble of her hands as they flew on the keys.

"Here we go, Amy Kent," she said. "Older than the others. Georgetown four years before moving on to get her law degree from Harvard."

"So that's the connection," Ian said thoughtfully.

"You guys got something?" Don asked coming over the Anna's desk. Ian quickly stepped back. Last thing he wanted Eppes to see was him practically trying to inhale his sister.

"Baltimore," Anna said. "All our victims lived there at some point."

"Baltimore," Don said frowning. "I don't get it."

"Well maybe Charlie can find some kind of connection," Anna said. "That social networking algorithm thing has found connections where there didn't seem to be any before."

"Did I actually hear my baby sister say something nice about an algorithm?" Charlie said joining them. "Why Annabelle I must say I am just truly touched." Ian sniggered while Don rolled his eyes. Anna didn't look amused.

"Five people are dead, more than likely our sniper's looking to make it six. I'm willing to try anything at this point, Chucklehead." Charlie frowned at the nickname.

"Knock it off you two," Don said. "Charlie let us know what you find."

Five people, she thought staring at the photos. A lawyer, a librarian, a bartender, a daycare center worker, a black jack dealer. Different ages, different economic standing, different appearance. What was it that made the sniper go after them? Bi-coastal long distance serial killers were extremely rare. LDSK's wanted instant gratification. They didn't take this kind of care and time with their targets. These were not random killings. These people were targeted. But what was the connection? She was out of her league here. She didn't have a great deal of experience with snipers. At least not ones that didn't carry a badge. She could feel him. He was close. Outside the room, watching her. God, why did he have to come here? When she'd seen him standing there all the air had rushed right out of her. Standing there so calm and cool, like nothing could penetrate the mental shield he had around him. Nine years since she'd last seen him, and damned if he didn't still make her go weak at the knees. She would not let him get to her. This was her place, her turf. She had the advantage. She saw him out of the corner of her eye. Coming to interrupt her when she was in profiler mode. Brave man.

"I'd know that stance anywhere," he said. "You getting anything?"

"Not yet," she said. He was trying to throw her off. She would not let him. Damn him, sitting there all zen while she was trying to think. Focus on the pictures, she ordered herself. What are these victims trying to say?

"Not much resemblance between you and your brothers," he said casually. She gritted her teeth. He's trying to throw you off with his laid back comments. Respond in kind.

"They're not really my brothers," she said her voice even and her eyes on the photo. "I was born of a wandering gypsy clan who traded me for a goat." He chuckled.

"Why do you use the name Graves?" Calm, detached, she ordered herself.

"One Agent Eppes in the bureau is enough," she said. "Graves was my grandmother Eppes's maiden name."

"Your brother's got a nice house," he said. Her chest tightened. He was friends with Charlie and Don. He'd been in her childhood home. Her higher ground was starting to erode.

"Can't say much for your dad's cooking though," he said. At that she couldn't help but smile.

"Do I want to know?"

"I didn't know you could tie dye a meatloaf," he said. Anna chuckled in spite of herself.

"We never could convince him that you can't substitute Lucky Charms for cornflakes," she said. Good lord, she remembered the first time her dad had put Lucky Charms in the meatloaf. The thing glowed!

"Your brothers are good guys," he said. She couldn't disagree.

"When I met Charlie the first time I thought he was totally full of himself."

"He gives that impression a lot," she said. Ian chuckled.

"I didn't believe that voodoo he was spouting off could help catch a sniper," Edgerton said. "But during a sniper case, damned if he didn't manage to pick out the attacks by the original sniper from the copy cats. And when these two spree killers went on a rampage, he not only figured out where they were going, he found a crime scene that I had missed."

"Whoah," Anna said somewhat amazed. "My big brother Charlie found something that the Ian Edgerton, bastard son of Clint Eastwood and Yoda, missed. I admit, I'm impressed." He was quiet for a long time. The tension in the room was stifling. He just sat there watching her. Why couldn't he just go away? She glanced toward the ceiling and prayed for some kind of salvation. For Don, or Megan or someone to come in with some kind of lead. Something that would stop his eyes from burning a hole in the back of her head.

"I need coffee," she said. She moved past him and his hand came down on her shoulder. A shudder went through her entire body.

"Why did you leave?" he said. His voice was deadly soft.

"Let go," she said firmly, but she couldn't stop the tremble in her voice.

"I go away a couple months, I come back and you're gone."

"What did you think? I was gonna be waiting for you with dinner on the table?"

"A phone call, a dear John letter. I had to hear about it from the Assistant Director. I thought we at least meant enough to each other to hear it from you." Anna closed her eyes.

"I needed to get away. From D.C., from you, from all of it." Ian laughed roughly.

"Sleep with the woman one time and she runs for the hills," he said sarcastically.

"How dare you!" she snapped pulling away as though he'd slapped her.

"Just tell me one thing Annabelle," he growled getting in her face. She stared at him hard refusing to back down.

"Don't call me that," she snapped.

"One thing _Agent Graves_," he said. "Did that night mean anything to you at all?" She wanted to slap him. She clenched her fists at her sides.

"That night meant more to me than you will ever know," she practically hissed through clenched teeth. Before he could respond she turned around and left the room.


	5. Chapter 5

Still not owning

Ian always thought better with something in his hands. His preferred item was a gun but for right now a cup of coffee would have to do. He was more confused than ever about Anna. After she'd left he'd tried to tell himself that it was the bank that had made her need to run and not what had happened between them. After awhile he couldn't deny it anymore. She had left because of him. And he didn't know why. He glanced up as Don entered the room and went for the coffee.

"Don't know how I didn't put it together before," Ian said. Don glanced at him with a questioning look.

"Originally from LA, two older brothers, one an agent the other a child prodigy," Ian said. "Younger sister, a profiler in the New York office." Don grinned.

"How many times have I been to Charlie's house?" Ian asked. How did he not see any pictures of her. He knew Charlie had kept the house pretty much the way it was when he bought it from his father. That would mean leaving the family photos where they were.

"We don't keep a lot of family pictures out in the garage," Don said. "Which is where you spend the majority of your time when you're there." Ian nodded.

"Fair point," he said.

"Hard to believe you were her teacher," Don said. "Considering her philosophy on guns." Ian chuckled.

"Let me guess," he said. " 'You don't need a gun if you have an accurate profile.'" Don chuckled.

"I gotta admit," Don said, "I was skeptical at first, but she's managed to bring down some suspects that I was positive could only be taken down with a bullet."

"Yeah," Ian said. "She's really blown my mind the way she just seems to know exactly what to say to a person to get them to surrender."

"Sounds like you two were pretty close," Don observed. Ian smiled.

"Hard not to be friends with someone after they save your life," Ian said causing Don to nearly choke on his coffee.

"Whoah, whoah, whoah," Don said when he'd finished coughing. "Anna, my sister Anna. My baby sister. The same Anna that used to fling her mashed potatoes at me when I made fun of her braces, saved the life of the legendary Ian Edgerton." Ian shook his head.

"Kidnapping case. Four star general's daughter. Kidnapper's name was Joe Seifer. 5 million dollar ransom demand. Seifer tells us to have one of the general's underlings drop the bag with the money in this coffee shop. Luck of the draw, I get to be the agent already in the shop. Drop off goes sour, kidnapper panics, next thing I know I've got a bullet in my shoulder and five very terrified hostages. Our guys are outside, got the place surrounded, but this guys smart. He's keeping away from the windows and making sure the hostages stay in the line of fire."

"Military?" Don asked.

"That was the hunch. Negotiators are trying to get him to let the hostages go, I'm trying my damndest to convince him that as an agent I'm the only leverage he needs but I'm losing blood and it's hard to think straight. Just when I think he's gonna lose it and shoot a hostage I hear Anna's voice over the radio. She's calm, not even the slightest tick in her voice. She'd only been on my team two months but she's talking like a pro. She's trying to convince him to let me out so I can get medical attention. He doesn't want to let me go, doesn't want to lose his leverage. She's trying to convince him to trade me for her. Tells him she'll make a better hostage. I'm a single guy, no family, parents dead. Tells him she's got parents and two older brothers. Talks about the phone call our bosses would have to make to her family. She keeps talking about the phone call, the letter of condolence but what finally convinces him is when she asks him who he thinks they'd rather hand a folded American flag to, her mother or…nobody."

"Your superiors actually let her go into that coffee shop?" Don said in disbelief.

"She was a rookie, but she was good at what she did. Even then. So she comes inside, no vest, no gun and I know this cause Siefer made her take her shirt off. She gets me out of there and I get put into an ambulance. Naturally, as soon as I'm stitched up I'm back at the scene."

"Naturally," Don said.

"It's an hour later and she's convinced him to let three of the hostages go. Another hour goes by and he releases the other two. So Anna's in there alone with him. Three hours go by and we've still got no shot. We can see her but Siefer's staying completely out of sight. Five hours after she went into the coffee shop, the door opens and Siefer comes out with his hands raised. Anna's behind him, one hand's on his shoulder and the other's holding his gun at her side. She puts him the car, hands the gun to the agent in charge and tells us the address of a storage unit where Siefer had stashed the general's daughter." Don was visibly impressed.

"To this day," Ian said shaking his head. "I don't know what she said to him."

"What you never asked her?"

"I did. All she said was, "exactly what he needed to hear"." Don chuckled.

"Nice to know some things never change," Don said.

"Still a cocky little brat, eh?" Ian said. Don shook his head a little.

"Not so much cocky," he said. "She's confident in what she does. Always wants to go for talking before a hail of gunfire. But, she's willing to admit that sometimes there's no other choice. That some guys can't be talked down." Ian smiled a little.

"I guess she learned from what happened in the bank," he said softly.

"Bank?" Don asked. Ian looked at his face. He had no idea. Ian frowned. He knew Anna was a private person, he'd guessed that about her after knowing her ten minutes. Textbook profiling. But he thought she would at least have told Don about the bank.

"First National Bank," Ian said. "About ten years ago. Ten hostages. This suspect is seriously crazed. Everyone knows there's only one way to end this."

"Everyone but Anna," Don said knowing.

"Exactly," Ian said. "She's got the guys profile and she's insisting she can bring this guy in. Agent in charge isn't convinced. He tells me as soon as I have a shot to take him. Against orders, Anna goes into the bank. She tries to talk the guy down, and for a moment it looks like she might actually be reaching him. Next thing we know he kills two agents, and a hostage and pulls a knife on Anna. Cut her pretty bad."

"Is that how she got…?" Don ran his fingers along his side. Ian nodded.

"She managed to get him into my sights, even after he cut her. She was okay, but she was shaken pretty bad."

"I'll bet," Don said.

"You really didn't know about this?" he asked. Don shook his head.

"Those years she was at Quantico and D.C. we really didn't have a lot of contact. My folks didn't react too well when Anna announced she was joining the FBI."

"Let me guess," Ian said. "They blamed you." Don smiled.

"My dad did. I told you how when we were growing up my folks Charlie got all this extra attention because of his genius."

"Yeah," Ian said. "You said you were on your own a lot. I believe my response was 'that explains a lot'." Don nodded.

"Well, it was a lot worse for Anna. There was a lot of stuff my parents missed because they were busy with Charlie. Dance recitals, spelling bees, soccer games. I tried to look out for her as much as I could. Made sure she got home safely, had dinner, but there was only so much I could do. Things got worse after Charlie and I graduated. I went off to college and Mom moved to Princeton with Charlie. Dad did the best he could but c'mon teenaged girl with no mother around?"

"Recipe for rebellion," Ian said.

"Exactly," Don said. "So we come home from her high school graduation, everyone's so happy, so excited. She's got acceptance letters from UCLA, Berkley, Columbia, and Duke. Could have gone to any of them. After dinner we all sit there at the table anxiously awaiting her final decision and she drops the bomb. 'Mom, Dad, I'm going to Quantico. I leave the day after tomorrow.' I mean I was completely stunned. I'd had no idea it was what she wanted."

"And you didn't want it for her," Ian surmised.

"Would you want it for your sister?" Don said. "I tried to talk her out of it. There were so many things she could have done. We fought. Two days later she packed her bags and left."

"She said there was tension between her and her family," Ian said remembering. "Didn't know you weren't on speaking terms."

"I tried to keep track of her as much as I could," Don said. "Knew she was doing well, getting quite a reputation. Mom and Dad worried about her though. Especially during the holidays."

"Hmm…" Ian said. "I remember the first Christmas after she graduated. I asked her if she was going home and she said she was just planning on spending the day alone. Didn't know why at the time but the idea of her being alone on Christmas really bugged me. I invited her to my place and we spent the day eating junk food and watching comedies. Kind of became tradition till she moved to New York." Don sighed and ran a hand over his eyes.

"I cannot tell you how glad I am to hear she wasn't alone," he said his voice sounding slightly emotional. "Mom and Dad worried so much…" Ian didn't say anything. Not being comfortable with emotion himself he understood Don's discomfort. He cleared his throat.

"So, I'm surprised she came back to LA," Ian said. "I know she was doing well in New York."

"You kept track of her," Don stated.

"She wasn't just a colleague, Don. She was my best friend," Ian said. Don nodded.

"She did do well in New York," Don agreed. "I always thought the move had more to do with TJ than anything else."

"TJ?" Ian said looking confused.

"Her son," Don said simply. Ian felt a painful wrench in his chest.

"Anna has a kid?" Was she…no there was no ring on her finger and besides if she was married she would have told him flat out that he had no chance.

"Yep," Don said. "Kid's a little wisecracker."

"Like mother like son," Ian said trying to sound casual.

"Quite a shock for the family the first time she brought him home."

"You didn't know she was pregnant?"

"No," he said. "No idea. Our mom was pretty upset that she didn't tell us."

"Your Dad?" Don grinned.

"Best birthday gift he ever got. Dad totally dotes on the kid." Ian pressed his lips together. The thought of another man with Anna, putting his hands on her, on HIS Anna made his heart hurt in the most unimaginable agony.

"You okay?" Don asked him. Ian didn't know what to say. Fortunately he was saved by Colby bursting into the room.

"Don," Colby said urgently, "There's been another attack."

"Same MO?" Don asked setting his cup down.

"Yep," Colby said.  
"Two attacks in the same city?" Ian said standing up. "That's new."

"Let's roll," Don said.


	6. Chapter 6

I own Anna and TJ. I wish I owned Ian, Don, Charlie and Colby but alas I am not that fortunate

Megan Reeves glanced at the younger woman driving the car. When Anna Graves had joined the team years ago Megan had taken it as a sign that she should start updating her resume. She hadn't met the woman before but her reputation had preceded her. Added to the fact that she was the boss's sister, Megan had not predicted a positive result. But she had been pleasantly surprised. Anna blended right in with the team and the two of them had become really good friends. After being the only woman in the all boys club it had been really nice to have another female around to help deflate the enormous male egos around her when they got out of hand. She trusted Anna with her life, something that could be said about very few people and God knew she adored TJ. Sometimes after a particularly hard case Anna would invite Megan to join her and TJ in whatever they were doing. That kid always had a joke or a story that could make Megan smile. Being around TJ made her think about having a kid herself someday, but she and Larry were a long way away from that. Anna was one of the few people who didn't think it was weird that she was dating the Cal Sci professor. They had shared many bottles of wine while discussing their relationships, past present and hopefully future. Anna was always rather closed mouthed on the subject of men, and after observing her friend for the last few days, Megan couldn't help wondering if it had something to do with the tall, handsome, sniper who rode beside Don in the SUV in front of them.

"So," Megan said. "As your best friend I've kept my mouth shut for the last few days. But as a profiler I gotta say you've been acting not like yourself since Edgerton came to town." Anna's fingers tensed on the wheel.

"Are you trying to ask me a question, Agent Reeves?" Megan ran a hand through her hair.

"What's going on with you?" Megan said. "What's the story with you and Ian?" Anna sighed.

"Between us girls?" she asked. Megan smiled and crossed her fingers over her heart. Anna stared straight ahead at the road.

"My first day at Quantico, I was in a class with 50 people. I was one of only five women. Two of them scrubbed out the first week. The other two didn't make it past the first autopsy. Everyone's waiting for me to wash out, or switch to a different field."

"Which only made you more determined to stick it out," Megan said knowingly. "Been there."

"Ian challenged me. No matter how hard I worked he pushed me to do better. To be the best."

"You resented him for that?"

"No," she said thoughtfully. "I soaked up everything he had to teach me. Absorbed it. Tried to do it better. He pushed, I pushed back. He got in my face, I stared him down. God, I'll never forget the time he profiled me."

"Yep," Anna said. "He looked me straight in the eye and informed me that I was the youngest child, most likely a surprise baby, older siblings the best at whatever they did, always trying to catch up, spent a lot of time by myself as a child, absent mother figure during the teenage years, adult role model was or is an agent, the one who had the most influence in my life, joined the FBI to follow in their footsteps, joining the FBI wasn't what my parents wanted for me, had many offers from good schools, could have been anything. Was most likely the only girl so no stranger to sticking it out with the boys, willing to use my sexuality to get what I want, but resent it when others use it against me which is why I wear turtlenecks. Don't want to give anyone a reason to look anywhere but my eyes when they talk to me." Megan was impressed.

"Wow," Megan said. "And this was after knowing you how long?"

"Two days," Anna said. "He was right of course but I wasn't gonna let him know it."

"Do I want to know how you responded?" Megan asked. Anna grinned.

"I stared right back at him and told him that his parents died before he was sixteen, he joined the army straight out of high school, not out a need to serve his country or because the colleges didn't want him but his grades weren't good enough for academic scholarship and his parent's life insurance wasn't enough to pay four years of tuition. He did well in the army, earned himself a nice reputation, saw quite a lot of combat and lost the few close friends he had to enemy fire. Utilized the skills he learned in the army to build a spot for himself in the FBI. The danger, the excitement, and the sense of doing good, all things he learned he can't live without, but he's unable to get close to the people he works with because of the knowledge that one day there'll be a confrontation that goes bad, or an extra man he didn't see. He's not afraid to put his own life on the line but the idea of someone he cares about being in danger ties him in knots which is why he's never had a relationship that lasted more than a month. And I wear the turtleneck because I have an ugly scar on my neck from falling out of a treehouse when I was eight." Megan's jaw was hanging to her chest.

"Oh my God," she said when she was able to talk again. "You said all that, and you're still alive." Anna smiled.

"His expression doesn't change but I can see in his eyes I've nailed him dead to rights. He patted me on the shoulder and said "you'll do Graves." Megan laughed.

"Wow," Megan said. "After knowing the man two days you were able to profile him that accurately? Damn." Anna grinned sheepishly.

"The army stuff is fairly textbook, but the rest of it. Just a really lucky guess." Megan busted out laughing.

"Oh my God," she said when she could breathe again. "I'd have paid big money to have been able to see that."

"Well, he doesn't know I was guessing, and if you say anything I'll have to bury you alive."

"My lips are sealed," Megan promised. Man, she knew her friend had spunk, but to go toe to toe with a guy who could kill a person from a hundred yards away? It blew her mind.

"So you guys got to be friends after that?"

"Not exactly," Anna said. "It took a while before I really proved myself to him but eventually."

"You were close." Anna nodded.

"Yeah." Megan could hear the tightness in her voice. "When we were on the job it was like we could read each other's minds."

"And off the job?" Anna didn't answer for a long time.

"He was my rock," she said softly. "We'd have one of those cases, and I'd be a mess, and he always knew just what to say to get me to a place where I could come in the next morning. Start over with a new case with the belief that what I was doing made a difference."

"So what happened?" Megan asked. Anna stared straight ahead of her, knuckles gripping the steering wheel, and lips pursed tightly.

"Anna," Megan said carefully.

"I got pregnant," Anna said so softly that Megan barely heard her. Megan's heart leapt into her throat.

"Anna…"

"It was just the one time," Anna said not looking at her. "A confrontation had gone bad. I screwed up. Three people died, I got hurt. He confronted me. One thing led to another…two weeks later I'm facing an inquiry, he's off tracking a serial killer, and the stick turns blue."

"Oh my God Anna," Megan said. "Ian is TJ's…."

"He doesn't know," Anna said firmly. "I never told anyone."

"No one?"

"It doesn't matter," Anna said. "Once we catch this bastard, he'll leave and go on to another assignment. TJ and I will go on as we did before." Megan pressed her lips together. She couldn't believe it. Her best friend and Ian Edgerton. God, her head was spinning. And she'd never told anyone. Megan couldn't imagine what it was like for Anna keeping this secret all these years.

"You're not to say a word," Anna said firmly. "Not to Don, or Charlie, no one."

"I wouldn't do that," Megan said. "This isn't my secret to tell. But Anna, Ian is friends with your brothers. He'll probably stick around a bit after the case is solved. There's a chance he might come into contact with TJ. He's a smart guy, Anna, and even without Charlie's help, the guy can count to nine." Anna lowered her eyes.

"If it happens, I'll deal with it," Anna said her voice shaky. "But there's no reason to think about it now. We're here." She pulled up beside the house of their latest victim.

"We've got a job to do."


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Numb3rs

"Tara McDavid, 29," Colby was saying as Anna took in the scene. "Shot from behind. Her husband Chad was standing in front of her. Bullet went through Chad's shoulder and hit Tara."

"So the wife most likely wasn't the target," Anna said. Colby nodded.

"Looks that way," he said. Anna glanced over where the husband was being looked at by a paramedic. The man looked completely devastated. He had not seen this coming. She felt slightly ill as she imagined what his reaction would be when he learned that his wife had taken a bullet meant for him. And he would have to be told. Their shooter had left them something this time, a live victim.

"Anna," Don's voice called her from inside the house. "You're gonna wanna take a look at this." She moved into the house and followed her brother into a small den.

"I'll be damned," she said. The entire room was decked out in purple and gold, the colors of the Baltimore Ravens.

"It's like a shrine," Colby said in awe. Every piece of furniture in the room held the emblem of the Ravens.

"This guy put some serious money into this room," Don observed. "Look at this, framed Jersey's for Flacco and McGahee. Those don't come cheap."

"The question is," Colby said. "Which one was from Baltimore?"

"The husband," Anna said holding up a football. "Autographed by Ray Lewis. To Chad, my number one fan."

"Superbowl 35 MVP," Colby whistled. "This dude was more than just a fan."

"The whole rest of the house is decked out in Black and Gold," Megan said joining them.

"Steelers married to a Ravens fan?" Anna said thoughtfully. "That's like a Capulet marrying a Montague." Megan raised a brow at her.

"Father, two older brothers, and a son," Anna said tilting her head. "You think I can just drown them out when they talk?"

"Definitely the same guy," Ian said entering the room. "Found the place he fired from. Same as the last five."

"The profile has changed," Anna informed him. She showed him the football. Ian nodded.

"He missed his target."

"From what I got from the husband, his wife had just stepped out of the house when the shot was fired," Colby said.

"All the previous shootings have been a head shot till now," Megan said.

"The wife threw him off his game," Ian said. "All the other victims were alone. He lines up his target, gets ready to take the shot…"

"Then all of a sudden there's the wife. He jumps, his shot goes awry…" Anna continued.

"He hits his target in the shoulder and kills the wife," Ian finished giving her a knowing look. Anna felt her face flush. They used to finish each other's sentences all the time. It had annoyed the rest of the team to no end. She shook her head at the memory.

"Don, we have to assume that our shooter knows he didn't kill his target."

"Already on it," Don said pulling his cell phone out. Anna felt his eyes on her as Don called David at the hospital and told him to make sure that Chad McDavid was not left unguarded.

"I can't believe she's gone," Chad McDavid wept into his hands. Anna felt the familiar pang of sorrow in her heart. This was the worst part of her job. She hated speaking to the victims loved ones.

"I am so sorry for your loss, Mr. McDavid," she said. The words always sounded terrible. She was sorry for his loss. Was that supposed to make this man who had obviously loved his wife feel better. She must have had a hundred people say it when her mother died. She had wanted to scream at them. She sucked her breath in and continued.

"Mr. McDavid," she said slowly. "You were from Baltimore originally? We saw your den when we looked in your home." He nodded.

"Yeah," he said sniffing. "I, uh, lived there when I was a kid. Tara and I met in college. We…" he paused to give a small laugh. "We met in a sports bar during the game at Heinz Field. She was sitting at the bar in a Bettis Jersey screaming at Stewart to get his shit together. My buddies are screaming and cheering for the Ravens and all I'm doing is watching this crazy blonde. Our parents called our wedding 'the Hatfields and the McCoys."

"Must have been fun during the AFC championship game last year," Anna said sending a small prayer of thanks to her father for always having football on all the time. Chad laughed a little.

"We had a bet," he said fondly. "I had to reshingle the roof in a Roethlesberger jersey." He smiled a little then began to cry again. Anna had a feeling the black and gold was never going to be taken down.

"Mr. McDavid," she said clearing her throat.

"I don't know who would want me dead," he said. Anna's eyes widened.

"I'm not naïve," Chad continued. "I know that shot was meant for me." Anna swallowed.

"Mr. McDavid," she said. "Do you know this woman?" She showed him a picture of Denise Young. Chad looked at it a long time.

"No," he said. "I've never seen her before.

"Her name is Denise Young," Anna said. "She was killed a few days ago. We think the person who killed your wife may have killed Miss Young as well." Chad shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Doesn't ring a bell." Anna pulled a folder out of her bag.

"What about any of these people?" she asked. She showed the pictures of the first five victims. Again he shook his head.

"No," he said. "I don't know them." Anna watched his face. There was nothing to suggest he was lying. The doctor came in at that moment which Anna knew was her cue to leave.

"If you think of anything," she said handing him her card. "Anything at all no matter how insignificant."

"Agent Graves," Chad said through clenched teeth. "Please find my wife's killer." Anna nodded and left the room. Don and David waited for her outside.

"He's not lying," she said. "He didn't recognize any of the other victims."

"What's the connection?" David said. "It can't just be Baltimore.

"Well, whatever the connection one thing is for certain," Anna said. "Our shooter has been thrown off his game, which complicates this whole mess much much more." Don's phone rang at that moment.

"Yeah Charlie," Don greeted his brother. "Right, we'll be right there."

Anna's fingers drummed impatiently on the desk as Charlie went through his long winded explanation of what he had found. She allowed a quick glance over to where Ian stood with his back against the wall. Like her he had the appearance of listening to Charlie's every word but she could tell his mind was elsewhere.

"So if you look at all of our victims," Charlie said. His tone said he was coming to his point. "The age they are now and the age they would have been when they lived in Baltimore you will see that…they all lived in Baltimore at the same time." He wrote it on the board. 1994.

"Fifteen years ago," Megan murmured. Charlie wrote it out on the board.

Denise Young-----7

Ben Rogers-------9

Amy Kent---------19

Rachel Mandano---8

Gary Chesterton--12

Chad McDavid(Tara)-14

"All our victims lived in Baltimore fifteen years ago," Charlie said. Anna was on her feet staring at the board.

"There's such a difference in the ages," she murmured. Nineteen to eight."

"There's nothing to suggest that these people knew each other," Don said. "Different age groups, different backgrounds, living in totally different cities."

"What happened in Baltimore 15 years ago?" Ian thought aloud.

"Let's dig a little deeper into these people's lives," Don said. "Find out everything you can about them fifteen years ago."

"What could a Georgetown freshman and an eight year old foster child possibly have in common?" Colby wondered aloud.

"That's what we need to find out," Don said. Anna jumped as her phone rang. She shot Don an apologetic look and stepped outside to take the call.

"Anna Graves," she said. "What!" They all watched as Anna's posture went rigid and her face tensed.

"Okay, okay, yeah, yeah, I'll be right there. Tell him I'll be right there," she hung up the phone and came back into the room.

"I need to go," she explained.

"What's going on?" Don asked. He knew it had to have something to do with TJ. Anna's face only ever looked that tense when her son was involved.

"TJ got into a fight at basketball practice," Anna said grabbing her purse. Surprise shown on the faces of all present, except Ian.

"TJ? Fighting?" Colby said in disbelief.

"Nngh!" Anna waved her hand saying she either didn't know or they shouldn't ask. She glanced at Don.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't worry about it," he said patting her shoulder.

"Call me on my cell if we find out anything," she said as she ran out the door.

Anna's head was spinning. What could her son have been thinking? Punching another kid? She taught him better than that. He couldn't have picked it up from the guys, they knew very well her thoughts on aggressive behavior and would never encourage TJ to fight. The video games he played? No, she made very clear that video games were not reality. She pulled up in front of the school and made her way to the office. It hadn't changed much from when she wandered these halls as a student. The same pea green formica and uncomfortable looking chairs with rust colored cushions. Even the secretary behind the desk with spectacles on her nose and hair in a bun. She hadn't spent nearly as much time in the principal's office as Don had but she'd done her time. Seated on one side of the room was a boy TJ's age, who was sporting a split lip. A stout woman in her mid-forties sat beside him. She could only assume that this was the boy's mother. The woman glared at her and Anna could not resist moving her hand so that her jacket slid back just enough to show her gun.

"Mrs. Graves?" Anna looked up and saw TJ's principal coming from his office. By the way he was dressed Anna knew this had to be the principal.

"Agent Graves," Anna corrected. "You must be Principal Rowling?"

"Yes," he said. "Please come on back." Anna shot the older woman a final glare and followed the man to his office. Her son sat across from the desk sporting a black eye and staring at the floor.

"What in the name of God happened?" Anna said tilting her son's chin up so she cold examine his eye.

"Apparently," Rowling said sitting down, "TJ here got into a fight with Troy Deebus, the young lad you saw outside with the fat lip. There were harsh words exchanged and TJ threw the first punch."

"I see," Anna said. "Did he tell you why?"

"He's been quiet about why. TJ?" TJ stared at the floor.

"TJ?" Anna said firmly. "TJ answer the question. Why did you hit Troy?" TJ sighed.

"There's another kid on the team," TJ said. "Peter Owens. Troy's always making fun of him because Peter's got two dad's. Today, Peter missed a couple shots and Troy said he played so lousy cause he's limp wristed, and that's what happens when you live with fags." Anna felt her temper rising. What the hell did they teach in these schools?

"So I told Troy to knock it off," TJ said. "And Troy said he wasn't gonna take orders from someone who had a whore for a mother. That's when I hit him. I know I shouldn't have. I know you always told me that you shouldn't resort to violence but he made me so mad I just couldn't…" Anna was at a loss for words. She sometimes forgot that even in a city as liberal minded as LA there were still plenty of people out there who were very old fashioned when it came to family.

"TJ," Rowling spoke now. "I understand that you would want to stand up for your mother. But I cannot allow you to fight with another student. Now normally, fighting would be grounds for suspension." TJ hung his head.

"However," Rowling said. "Considering the circumstances. Two weeks detention and a week's suspension from the basketball team." TJ nodded, taking his punishment like a man.

"And Troy Deebus?" Anna asked. "Surely you don't allow your students to be harassed by other students."

"I can assure you Agent Graves," Rowling said. "Mr. Deebus will be dealt with. This isn't the first report of harassment we've had." He stood and held out a hand.

"Thank you for coming down." Anna shook his hand and put her hand on TJ's shoulder. She didn't say anything as they got into the car. It wasn't till they got onto the road that TJ spoke.

"Are you mad at me?" Anna smiled a little. She reached over and ruffled his hair.

"I can't say much for your method's," she said. "but I'm proud of you for sticking up for Peter. Just no more fighting. Okay, if you have a problem you use words not fists. I don't want you fighting, you got me?"

"I got you," he said.

"Good," she said. "Now let's get some ice on that eye. You look like the opening scene from Road House."

"What?" TJ said wrinkling his nose. Anna sighed.

"Man I'm getting old," she laughed.

He'd never admit it, but Don Eppes actually did have a lot in common with his brother. They both loved sports, albeit for different reasons; they were both obsessed with food, they both adored their nephew, and they would both overprotective of their baby sister. But most of all, neither of them could let go of a puzzle once it was before them. Right now the puzzle that Don was stuck on involved his sister and a certain tracker. All this stuff that Ian knew about Anna that he didn't, it was as though there was this gap in history where his sister had had a whole other life. So much of what Ian had told him seemed to have such a huge effect on who she was now. He glanced up from his computer screen to make sure she was nowhere in sight. As her boss he was perfectly within his rights to look into her records. As her brother, however, he had never exercised that right. He pressed a few keys and there it was. His sister's entire career in the FBI. Her record was impeccable. She really was as good as she said she was. He finally found the record he'd been looking for. First National Bank. Armed gunman with six hostages. Don ran a hand over his eyes. From this report, nothing in the world could have made him go into the bank. Even though what she'd done had been stupid he couldn't help feel the slightest bit of admiration for his sister. He read her psych evaluation. The shrink had cleared her for duty, declaring her to be shaken but not suffering from any post traumatic stress. There was a note saying that Agent Graves seemed to have learned from her mistake and would be unlikely to repeat it. Don ran a hand over his mouth. There was something that just wasn't adding up for him. He glanced at the date that the incident had occurred and something in his mind clicked. He did a little more digging and found the approval documents for her transfer to New York. His stomach dropped as he saw the date. He closed out of the screen and went to find Charlie. He was in the conference room, chalk clicking away trying to come up with some kind of connection between their sniper victims.

"Hey," Don said coming into the room and closing the door. "You got a sec?"

"Sure," Charlie said setting down the chalk and stretching his back. "I'm not getting anywhere with this. What's up?" Don waited till Charlie was facing him.

"Have you noticed Anna's been acting kind of weird lately?" Don asked. He didn't want to come right out with his theory. He needed to ease into it.

"Weird how?" Charlie asked. Don ran a hand over his hair.

"Like, not herself. It just seems like ever since Ian arrived she's been kind of tense and nervous." Charlie shrugged.

"Well Ian can make people nervous. He's kind of intimidating." Don shook his head.

"Have you ever know anyone to be able to rattle our baby sister?" Charlie thought for a moment.

"Now you mention it?" he said. "Not really." Don nodded.

"From what Ian was telling me earlier, it sounded like they were pretty close. He said she was his best friend."

"Edgerton said that?" Charlie said. "Wow."

"I was looking at some of her records," Don said slowly. "Ian told me about this hostage situation in a bank. That's how Anna got that scar."

"The one on her side?"

"Yeah," Don said. "It happened nine years ago." Charlie's eye widened and Don could see the look in his eyes. The same one when he had figured something out.

"Nine years," Charlie said.

"I looked at the paperwork from when she transferred to New York from D.C. Charlie, Anna would have been about five weeks pregnant when she requested the transfer." Charlie ran a hand through his hair and put his hands against the table.

"Don," Charlie said slowly trying to wrap his mind around what his older brother was trying to tell him.

"What's the only thing she's ever told us about TJ's father?" Don said. Charlie sighed.

"Some guy in Washington," Charlie muttered. "But that doesn't mean…."

"I know," Don said. "But if you think about it, it makes sense doesn't it."

"It does," Charlie agreed. "So what do we do?"

"Right now nothing," Don said. "I mean there isn't any proof that I'm right about this. And if Anna hasn't told Ian it's not our place to do it."

"So what," Charlie said. "We just sit back and brood on this."

"We let Anna make her own decisions," Don said. "I mean TJ's her son. We can't tell her what to do. All we can do is be there for her and support whatever decision she makes." Charlie sighed again.

"I suppose your right," he said. "Okay, mum's the word." He turned back to his board and picked up his chalk.

"You know," Charlie said with a small smile. "It kind of does make sense."

"Oh yeah," Don said. "How so?"

"Think about it," Charlie said. "Who are TJ's biggest heroes?" Don grinned.

"Clint Eastwood and Yoda," Do said chuckling.

"I don't know why we didn't figure this out before," Charlie said.

"Yeah," Don said. "Should have been obvious the first time I played one on one with the kid and he called me a punk and asked me if I felt lucky."

"What about the time I told him I'd try to fix his bike and he told me 'Try not, do or do not.'" The two busted out laughing and didn't stop for twenty minutes.

Thank you to my Dad for all the information on Ravens and Steelers!!!


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own numb3rs

Ian was restless. He'd been in LA for three weeks now and he was nowhere near solving this case. There hadn't been any new leads since Tara McDavid's shooting. Chad McDavid was in protective custody but so far not even the slightest hint of the shooter coming back. There was no reason for him to still be in LA. But, he reasoned with himself, with no new leads to follow and no evidence of where the shooter was going to strike next he had to reason to leave. He did have a reason to stay however. A five foot eight, 150 pound, dark haired, dark eyed, long legged reason. She'd been avoiding him as much as possible and whenever they were in each other's company she would speak of nothing but the case. He was tired of it. He never thought he would see her again after she'd left, but here she was. The woman with the answer to the question he'd been asking himself for almost ten years now. Why had she left him? He wasn't going to let her avoid him any longer. She'd left the office about an hour ago. It was too early for her to have gone to pick up her son. If she was anything like Don he knew where she would be. He had come to call Charlie's house a home away from home when he was in LA. Charlie and Alan were often kind enough to let him bunk on the sofa which was a pleasant change from hotel rooms, even if Alan's cooking left much to be desired. He pulled into the driveway and stepped out of his truck. The place hadn't changed much. The garage, the basketball hoop, the koi pond. But here and there he could see evidence of a kid's presence. A bike thrown across the lawn, a pair of kid's sneakers on the front stoop. Obviously the boy spent a lot of time here. "Ian," Alan greeted him from his seat on the front porch. "Charlie told me you were in town."

"Good to see you Mr. Eppes," Ian said shaking the man's hand.

"I've told you Ian, call me Alan," he said. "If you're looking for Charlie he's at work."

"Actually," Ian said carefully. "I was um looking for Anna."

"Ah," Alan said a knowing look in his eyes. Ian had no doubt that Charlie had filled the man in on Ian's connection to his daughter.

"Well, she's not here at the moment but I'm sure she'll be by sometime or another. Why don't you come on in? I'll make some coffee." Ian followed him into the house. He glanced around the living room as Alan went to the kitchen to put the coffee on. He'd never been in the Eppes living room before. If he had he would have known that Anna was the Eppes's sister. All over the place there were pictures. Several were of a younger Alan and his wife. Anna looked a lot like her mother. Two young boys, one with dark straight hair and the other with a black mop of curls sat on the couch with a little girl with dark pigtails between them. The same dark haired girl in a frilly pink tutu, riding a purple bicycle with a basket, standing proudly in a soccer uniform, standing by the stairs in a prom dress with an awkward teenage boy in a badly fitting tux on her arm, wearing a graduation gown standing between her parents. A more recent photo had the place of honor in the center of the mantle. Don, Charlie and Anna sat on the steps of the Craftsman grinning at the camera. Ian's eyes rested on Anna's face. He loved her smile. It had always made him feel warm all over. God, he'd give almost anything to see her smile again. He looked away from the picture and moved out of the living room toward the kitchen. There in the hall it seemed is where Alan had built the shrine to his grandson. There were quite a few pictures that were most likely school pictures. Others of the kid in his basketball uniform, being tormented by his uncles, and fawned over by his grandfather. His heart twisted a little as his gaze landed on a photo of Anna and her son when the boy was an infant. She was holding the baby in her arms and the boy was asleep against her shoulder. Anna wasn't looking at the camera so she was most likely unaware that she was being photographed. More likely whoever had snapped the shot had happened upon Anna and her son and felt the need to capture the moment on film. Not that he could blame that person. Anna looked so beautiful holding her son. As though he were the only thing that mattered in the world

"Her mother took that the first time she brought TJ home," Alan said making Ian jump. He's been so entranced by the picture he'd forgot he wasn't alone.

"It's hard to imagine Anna as a mom," Ian said. He took the coffee Alan offered and took a long sip.

"Tell me about it," Alan said. "Could have knocked me over with a feather when I found out. We, uh, didn't really have a lot of contact when she was in D.C."

"I know," Ian said.

"All those holidays and birthdays she didn't come home. Oh, she'd send a card, send presents, but it wasn't the same as having her here. Then one year, she calls us out of the blue says she's coming home for my birthday and bringing me a big surprise. We're all sitting around the living room when she calls us from the driveway. We go out and she's standing by the same car we gave her for graduation."

"The '97 Tercel," Ian mused. He knew that car very well. He'd spent a lot time fixing it. He'd told her a million times she needed a new car, but the Tercel had too much sentimental value to her.

"Yeah," Alan chuckled. "She gives us all a hug and I ask where's the surprise? She opens up the backseat and unbuckles TJ from his carrier. All of us are just staring with our mouths open. Her mother went ballistic. They think I don't know about the fight they had. Margaret kept telling Anna that she should move back home so we could help her. Anna said she didn't need any help, that she didn't want our help. That night, uh, TJ wouldn't stop crying. You could hear him no matter where you were in the house. Her mom and I went downstairs and there she was. Walking him around the living room, singing showtunes to him. I looked over at Margaret and I saw it in her eyes. Acceptance. It was hard but we had to let her do this her own way. And she's done a heck of a job." Ian stared at the picture and he could just imagine Anna holding her crying son, pacing back and forth with him, trying to get him to sleep. The picture made his heart ache. A car door slammed out in the driveway and the door swung open. Ian's breath caught in his throat as the boy came into the house. The boy looked like Anna. Her eyes, her face. He was older than Ian had expected. His heart thudded in his chest.

"How was school?" Alan asked the boy. The kid shrugged.

"TJ this is Ian, he works with your mom and your uncles." Alan said. The boy looked at him and Ian couldn't breathe.

"Hi," TJ said holding out a hand. Ian mentally smacked himself over the head long enough to return the gesture.

"I'm gonna go work on my jumpshot," TJ said grabbing a basketball from the closet.

"Don't get your clothes dirty," Alan said. "Your mom will blame me."

"I won't." Ian was frozen and his heart was pounding in his chest. His head was swimming and his hand were sweating.

"Mr. Eppes?" Ian said. "How old is TJ?"

"He'll be ten in November," Alan said. Ian's legs went to rubber. It felt like there wasn't enough oxygen in the room.

"Ian?" Alan said his voice laced with concern. "Are you all right?" Ian shook himself back to reality.

"I have to go," he said practically sprinting from the house and out to his truck. He gunned the engine and pulled out of the driveway at maximum speed. He needed to talk to Anna.

NOW!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer:Still not owning

He blew through the city like a mad-man. He called her cell, it went straight to voicemail. She wasn't at the office. Don, Megan, Colby and David hadn't seen her. He even swung by Cal Sci. Neither Charlie or Amita had talked to her all day. He sat in his truck now pounding his fist against the steering wheel.

"Dammit," he thought. "Think!" Where would she go?

"C'mon Ian," he thought. "You've known the woman for almost fourteen years." Apparently not that well, that annoying little voice in his head said. She managed to keep this from you.

"Shut up!" he told the voice.

"Okay, last time you saw her," he said. "You were discussing the case. She was tense, frustrated, stressed out." He smacked himself in the head and put the truck in gear. When he arrived at his destination he was please to find her car was the only one in the lot. He did not want an audience for the conversation they were about to have. He fought the urge to just run up to her, grab her, shake her and demand her to tell him why she hadn't told him. Nine years! How could she have kept this from him for nine years? The fact that she was armed and currently blasting the hell out of a paper target, he felt that a slower, more cautious approach would be better. He waited until she had holstered her gun and was bringing the target in. He approached slowly keeping a sharp eye on the glock that was strapped to her hip.

"Not bad for someone who doesn't like to use guns," he said.

"I don't like to use it," she said replacing the target. "But I especially don't like to miss."

"That sounds familiar," he said. There was no point to it. Stalling with small talk wasn't going to make the conversation any easier.

"I stopped by your brother's house earlier," he said.

"Mm hm," she said.

"TJ was there," he said. Her back tensed but she kept her eyes on the barrel of her glock.

"He looks just like you," he said. Her eyes stared straight forward but he could see her spine stiffening.

"Yeah," she said. "That's what people say." His chest was tight, and his fists were clenched. She was just too damn calm. Her voice too even. It was pissing him off. And he had taught her this for Christ sake.

"He's older than I expected," he said. He could play this game as long as she could. "He's what eleven, twelve?" Finally she turned to him and stared him straight in the eye. Her face held no fear, no embarrassment, only tired defeat.

"What do you want from me?" She did not even jump as Ian's fist slammed into the wall.

"Dammit, Anna," he yelled. "How could you not tell me?" To her credit she didn't yell. She calmly slid her gun back into its holster and placed her hands on her hips.

"What would you have done if I had, Ian?" she asked. "Given up tracking, sniping, moving up to be the what is it now fourth best shot in the world? Settled down, white picket fence, two car garage and a little dog running around the yard? Or better yet, a check once a month from GOD KNOWS WHERE?!" He didn't reply for a moment. She made a fair point.

"I had a right to know Anna. Hell, I god damned deserved to know! Christ, you just ran off to New York. In nine fricking years did you ever once think of picking up a phone and saying "hey, guess what you have a kid?!"

"I did what was best for my son!" she snapped back. "And I make no apologies for it!"

"What was best for him?" he shot. "Or for you? Cause I seem to recall waking up to an empty bed long before TJ would have even been a thought in your mind." At this she stepped back.

"Look," she said. "I didn't even find out until two weeks later. Between facing an inquiry and an FBI shrink, I didn't even realize I was late, or that the all the vomiting was from morning sickness. By the time I realized I was pregnant, you were off somewhere and I had no idea when you would be back. This opening came up in New York and I jumped on it. Frankly the Assistant Director couldn't sign my request fast enough."

"What are you talking about?"

"Between First National and the rumors I wasn't exactly welcome in D.C. anymore," she said.

"What rumors?" Ian said. She stared at him incredulously.

"You really don't know?" He shook his head.

"Everybody was talking about us, Ian. They all thought you and I were doing the nasty. It came up in my inquiry. The shrink they ordered me to see kept bringing it up. If they'd found out that I was carrying your child, I would have been thrown to the wolves. The FBI are PURITANS when it comes to stuff like this and you know that. "

"Anna if I'd been there…"

"You weren't there!" she shouted. "I was being eaten alive and you were on the other side of the country."

"I get it," Ian said. "I wasn't there for you then, so how could I possibly be a father to our baby? God, Anna. You could have given me a chance."

"That door swings both ways," Anna said through clenched teeth. "You didn't exactly chase after me Ian."

"I called you ten times a day for weeks!" Ian snapped.

"Oh please," Anna shot back. "Like not returning your calls would really have stopped you if you had wanted me back. Don't tell me a guy who can find a serial rapist hiding in the Rocky mountains can't locate and FBI agent in New York." Ian had no answer for that. It was true. It would have been all too easy for him to find her in New York. God, if he hadn't been such a coward.

"Things weren't right between us before that Anna," he said slowly. Anna shook her head.

"There's no point to this," she said running her hands through her hair. "The past is the past. TJ and I have done just fine without you for this long and we'll be fine when you leave."

"I'm not going anywhere," Ian stated firmly. He might have messed up nine years ago by letting her go, but he was not about to make the same mistake again now that he'd been given a second chance.

"The case is going cold and there are probably five assignments waiting for you back in D.C. there's no reason for you to stay."

"If you think I'm leaving now that I know I have a son, you are out of your damn mind, Agent Graves."

"Ian," Anna said warningly.

"I have rights here, Anna," Ian said. "I have a right to see my kid."

"What are you gonna do, Ian?" Anna scoffed. "Take me to court? Cause I would just love to meet the judge that would grant you custody. Just stay away from us! We don't need you!" And with that she shoved past him and left the range.


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own Numb3rs

Normalcy was key when trying to regain your sanity. And what could be more normal than playing basketball with your son and brothers? So what if TJ and Charlie were kicking hers and Don's butts?

"Geeze Mom," TJ said after stealing the ball from her and sinking the ball. "You play ball like a girl."

"I am a girl runt," she said hooking her arm around his neck.

"Face it Anna," Charlie said tossing the ball in the air. "Basketball was never your forte." Just to show off Charlie shot the ball toward the hoop and it sank with a swish!

"Okay boy genius," Anna said shooting her brother a look. "Let's see you profile a deranged sociopath."

"Hey, hey," Don said, "No shop talk in front of the b-o-y." He playfully stood behind TJ and placed his hands over his nephew's ears. TJ giggled.

"Get off me," he laughed pushing Don away. Don wrapped an arm around TJ's neck in a loose half nelson.

"Now what're you gonna do, shrimp!" Don said as he messed up TJ's hair.

"Ah! Stop!" TJ yelled. "Mom help!"

"What? What? I can't hear you," Anna said playfully. Anna loved moments like this. Seeing her son hanging around, goofing off with her brothers. She laughed as Charlie joined Don in their torment of their nephew. TJ screamed with laughter as Don held him in a headlock and Charlie tickled him.

"Uncle!" TJ shouted.

"Which one?" Don and Charlie said together. It was an old joke.

"BOTH!" They released him and TJ was quick to return the attack by leaping onto Charlie's back.

"Hey!" Charlie yelled.

"You're on your own, Chuck," Don called. Anna watched as Charlie and TJ wrestled on the grass. They were fine and she needed a drink.

"Beer?" Don asked. Anna nodded.

"I want him back in one piece!" Anna called as she followed Don into the house. "That goes for you too Charlie." Don went to the fridge while Anna grabbed a towel and mopped her sweaty forehead. She gratefully took the beer Don offered and took a long swig.

"So," Don said leaning against the counter, "I'm curious." Anna glanced at him and raised a brow.

"Just what exactly did you say to Joe Siefer that made him surrender?" Of all the things her brother could have asked her that was not one she had been expecting. She laughed.

"Been having a little chat with Ian, huh?" She rubbed her eyes. It had been a week since their confrontation at the gun range. He'd been keeping his distance since then. But he was still here, and if she knew the man at all she knew he wasn't going anywhere. No, no. A hunter like him didn't give up on his prey just because an obstacle had been thrown into his path. No, he was lying in wait, waiting to catch her with her back turned. That's when he'd pounce.

"He mentioned you saved his life," Don said. "I couldn't just leave it at that." Anna smiled. That case had pretty much cinched her reputation with the bureau. And it had been the start of her friendship with Ian.

"We found out that Siefer's brother has served under the general whose daughter he'd kidnapped. The way Siefer kept talking about his brother's death he kept using words like 'responsibility' and 'he looked up to you'. Just the way he said it, I knew it wasn't the general he was blaming…

_Anna's heart was pounding as the last hostage hurried across the street where the SWAT agent took her. It was just her and Siefer now. She had to be very careful what she would say in these next few minutes. He was sweaty, tired, and on edge. It was a dangerous combination. Her mind was moving a mile a minute. THINK. THINK. THINK. This was about his brother. Use that, get inside his head. _

_"You and Jimmy were close?" she said carefully. His eyes snapped to her face._

_"He was my brother!" he snapped. _

_"I'm sorry," she said. "Dumb question. You loved him."_

_"Of course I did," Siefer said. "Jimmy was the best. Kind, gentle. Our parents thought he should have been a teacher, he was so good with kids." Anna smiled a little. Keep him talking. Rule number one in hostage negotiation. Every moment he talked was a moment he wasn't killing someone. Every word he said gave her more information she could use to bring him in._

_"Yet he decided to be a soldier," she said._

_"He had no business being a solder," Siefer snapped. "His hands were never meant to hold a gun. To fight. He wasn't a fighter."_

_"Were you?"_

_"I got into a few scrapes. Sometimes you have to, ya know."_

_"I do," she said._

_"Jimmy was never a fighter. He'd just let the other kids push him around, take his lunch, never fought back."_

_"So you fought for him?"_

_"I was his big brother! I had to look out for him! I was supposed to protect him!" They were getting to it now, Anna thought. She was reaching him._

_"You sound like my oldest brother," she said casually. "He's an agent like me. When we were kids he always tried to protect me and my other brother. Well, Charlie needed protecting more than I did. Eleven year old kid in high school?"_

_"What was he some kind of child prodigy?"_

_"Math genius," Anna shrugged. "He's a professor at Cal Sci now. Don tried to protect him from getting bullied but he couldn't always be there. Charlie got stuffed in quite a few lockers."_

_"What about you?"_

_"First guy ever messed with me on the playground wound up on the ground bleeding from nose. But that didn't make Don less protective. I tried to act like it was just annoying but inside, it made me feel good to know he cared about me." As she spoke she was watching Siefer's eyes. Edgerton had told her that if you were ever unsure if you were reaching someone to always look at their eyes. Siefer's eyes were nervous, edgy, but something in them had started to give._

_"He the reason you became an FBI agent?" Siefer asked._

_"Partly," she said. _

_"I bet he wasn't too happy with that," Siefer said his hands twitching just a little._

_"Only fight I remember ever having with him. He tried to talk me out of it."_

_"That's what older brother's are supposed to do," Siefer snapped. "Supposed to keep the younger ones safe, not let them put themselves deliberately in danger. He should have kept you out of danger."_

_"He couldn't keep me from doing what I believed in," Anna said her eyes focused on Siefer's face. "Don was my hero, and I really admired him. But I joined the FBI for my own reasons."_

_"And now look where it's landed you," Siefer scoffed. "I could shoot you at any moment."_

_"Yes you could."_

_"You think your brother wanted that for you. Don't you think he'd rather have you do anything else." His hands were shaking and his voice was trembling. _

_"I know he would have. And I know that if you were to shoot me right now, it would be because I made the choice to come in here. And I wouldn't want my brother to blame himself." Tears were streaming from Siefer's eyes. Tears of grief. Tears of loss._

_"He never should have picked up a gun," Siefer said. "Jimmy wanted to do everything I did. No matter what. Since we were kids. If he hadn't been trying to be like me…"_

_"Jimmy made a choice," Anna said slowly approaching the broken man. "And I know he would not want this." _

_"I miss him so much…" Siefer sobbed. _

_"I know," Anna said. She slowly held out her hand for the gun. Hands shaking, he placed the gun in her hand…_

"The whole time I was terrified," Anna said. "One wrong word, or gesture and he'd panic and shoot me." Don was staring at her in awe.

"Damn, baby girl," he said in amazement. "You figured all of that out just by listening to the guy talk on the other side of a radio?" Anna nodded.

"You really are as good as they say," he said. Anna grinned.

"Did you ever doubt it?" He punched her lightly in the shoulder. They stepped out onto the porch to watch TJ and Charlie playing one on one.

"I'm doing okay by him, aren't I Don?" Anna said softly. Don glanced at her. Anna had never sought his approval when it came to her son.

"From what I can tell you are," Don said. "He's healthy, happy, has a whole group of people who'd walk across fire to protect him. You're doing fine Anna. TJ knows he's loved, and when all's said and done, that's really all that matters."

"You're right," Anna said. "I guess sometimes I just need a reminder." Don laid a brotherly hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"So Ian said you guys were pretty close," Don said casually. Anna bit her lip. She knew Ian must have told Don a lot more than he was letting on. The question was just how much did Don know.

"We were," she said carefully.

"Does he know TJ is his son?" Anna let out a breath. The nature of the question told her that Don had not learned the truth from Ian, but had figured it out himself.

"He does now," Anna said. She looked at Don nervously.

"I was curious after he told me some stuff," Don explained. "Looked into your records. I can do the math, Anna." She nodded. She knew she wouldn't have been able to keep it hidden once Ian had showed up in LA.

"Look Don…" she began but Don just squeezed her shoulder.

"You don't owe me any explanations Anna," Don said. "I know what this job can do to a person. I could never hold it against you for needing someone to keep you anchored." Anna smiled. Her anchor. She'd never quite thought of Ian that way, but she supposed it was a good a word to define him as any.

"You don't think I was wrong to keep TJ a secret from Ian?" Don ran a hand over his hair.

"I wasn't there when all this was going on, so I can't pass judgment. But I know one thing. You've never done anything without having a good reason. And you've never purposely hurt anyone if it could be avoided." Anna sighed.

"He's not gonna go away," she said. "Now that he know TJ is his, he's not just gonna walk away."

"Did you think he would?" Don asked. Anna ran her hands through her hair.

"I don't know," she said anxiously. "All faith I had in my ability to predict that man's actions got blown to hell the first time he kissed me." She trembled as she remembered it.

"What are you gonna do?" he asked.

"He has rights," Anna admitted. "As TJ's father, he does have rights. God, Don I just don't want TJ to get hurt."

"Ian won't hurt TJ," Don said. "I may not have known the guy as long as you have, Anna, but I know him well enough. He may put a bullet in a drug dealer's head from a thousand feet away and sleep perfectly fine, but he'd never hurt a kid. Especially his own."

"I never expected to see him again," Anna said staring at her son. "After I left D.C. I never thought our paths would cross again." Don wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Do Charlie and Dad know?"

"Just Charlie," he said. "And anyone you told."

"Just Megan," she said. "God Don, I don't know what to do about this."

"Whatever you decide, baby girl," he said. "I'm on your side. Always." Anna leaned against his shoulder. Knowing that her brother didn't judge her for her decisions and would support her no matter what, helped just a bit.

Ian was at a loss. For the first time in his life he had no plan. No idea what his next move should be. Since confronting Anna about TJ he'd been trying to stay back, give her space. To keep pushing her for answers right now would only make her more defensive and make her build her walls higher. Christ, what a wakeup call. He thought he'd known her so well, thought they'd been so close. Why wouldn't she have told him she was pregnant? Sure, she had a point in thinking he wasn't exactly father of the year material. With his lifestyle and the constant danger his work put him in. Not exactly ideal for raising a child. But dammit he would have tried. For her. Did she truly not know how he had felt about her? How he still felt about her? These last few weeks made him realize that there was a great deal he did not know about the woman he had once called his best friend. Then there was the kid. As lame as it was he'd taken to hanging around his school, the park, and other places the kid went. Technically, this could be considered stalking but he was desperate to know all he could about his son. The kid loved basketball that was for damn sure. He was friendly, he laughed a lot. Kind, always let the younger kids play with him and his friends. He stood up for the little guy. The more he saw of the kid the more he liked him. Anna had raised him right, that was for sure. He wanted to know more. He wanted to know everything. The kid's favorite color, his favorite food, what his first word was, hell what TJ stood for. As much as he hated to admit it, he was gonna need help if he was gonna get Anna and TJ back. And that was what brought him here to Cal Sci. He had little trouble finding Charlie in his office. The professor's back was to him as he entered, chalk clicking over the board.

"Professor," he called out a greeting. Charlie didn't turn around. A closer look and Ian saw that Charlie had his ear buds in. Feeling mischievous Ian crept up behind him and poked him in the side. Charlie jumped about ten feet and let out a girlish squeal.

"Easy professor," Ian said holding up his hands. "I come in peace."

"Ian," Charlie said placing a hand over his heart. "That wasn't funny."

"Sorry," Ian said.

"What can I do for you?" Charlie said setting down his chalk.

"I need your help," Ian said carefully. Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"If it's about the sniper I don't know anything more than I did before." Ian swallowed. God, this wasn't gonna be easy. For Anna, he thought. For Anna he'd do anything. Even ask her brother for advice.

"It's not case related," he said. "It's a more personal matter." Charlie bit his lip and raised his eyebrows.

"Would this, uh, personal matter, by any chance involve a certain female, dark haired profiler who shares DNA with myself." Ian smiled a little at the professors obvious discomfort.

"I guess you figured it out," he said.

"Don put it all together before I did," Charlie confessed. "But when we finally did, I guess it was kind of obvious."

"Maybe to you," Ian said. "You know Anna didn't even tell me she was pregnant."

"I wasn't accusing you of being a dead beat dad Ian," Charlie said.

"TJ seems like a good kid," Ian said.

"The best," Charlie said.

"Never gave much thought to having kids," Ian said. "With my lifestyle it wasn't exactly an option. But now that I know I have one…"

"Ian if you're thinking of taking Anna to court…"

"I'm not," Ian said holding up a hand. Charlie relaxed.

"I gave it some thought," he admitted. "I'd be laughed out of court if I attempted to sue Anna for custody. Besides, to put Anna through that would totally negate my secondary goal."

"Secondary goal?"

"I want my son, and I want Anna. I won't risk losing one to get to the other." Charlie pressed his lips together.

"Ian," Charlie said carefully. "Anna and I may not have always got along but she's still my baby sister." Ian sighed. This is why he hadn't gone to Don. Whatever the Eppes brothers' opinion of him was their first instinct would be to protect their sister and nephew.

"Guys like me, Charlie," Ian said. "We don't form attachments easily. My life, the work I do, it's dangerous. I go into every situation knowing it could be my last. And the only time I gave a damn about whether I lived or died was when Anna was in my life." Charlie looked astounded that Ian had opened up like this, but he needed him to understand.

"I love her Charlie," Ian said. Charlie was quiet for a long time. He seemed to be coming to a decision.

"Okay," Charlie said. "I'll help you out, but I got a couple conditions."

"Okay," Ian said crossing his arms over his chest.

"Number one," Charlie said. "You do not tell Anna I helped you. Last time I meddled in her love life I got two black eyes for it and I have no intention of giving a lecture on combatorics looking like a raccoon."

"Deal."

"Second," Charlie said. "If you do anything to hurt my sister in any way shape or form, I will make sure your body is never found. The director of the NSA owes me one so don't think I can't make it happen."

"I think we understand each other."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After speaking with Charlie, Ian felt a little steadier. At least now he had something of a plan. After talking strategy for several hours Ian and Charlie decided that the best way to approach the situation was to rely on a strategy that men had been using for years. When it came to single mothers, getting to the kid was key. Considering that Ian wanted to get to know his son as much as he wanted to win over Anna, he would be killing two birds with one stone. He would have to be careful in his approach. Right now her defenses were up and she was likely to shoot first and ask questions later. He did a little investigating, which involved speaking to Don, Megan, and Amita; also letting them in on the plan. Amita, who had not been aware of his history with Anna had been eager to help once Charlie had spoken to her. Don and Megan had been a little harder to convince. Don was even more protective of Anna than Charlie was and Megan was a she-lion when it came to protecting TJ. Both had eventually agreed to help but not before Don had threatened to kill him and Megan had given him a detail description of what would happen to his more valued appendages if Anna or TJ got hurt in this. After swearing upon pain of long excruciating death that he would do everything he could not to hurt them he was given all the details he needed. Anna and TJ's daily routines, schedules, TJ's afterschool activities and the names of his friends, Anna's favorite hangouts and dating history. Much to his pleasure she didn't really have one. Work and her son were Anna's life. Armed with information he acquired her cell number and prepared to walk into the lion's den. He sat now in his truck, number in hand staring at his phone.

"C'mon Edgerton," he scolded himself. "No guts no glory." He dialed the number and pressed send.

"Pick it up Anna," he thought desperately as it rang once, twice, three times. "Please pick it up." He let out a breath as he heard the click.

"Graves," her voice said.

"Anna," he said. "Don't hang up."

"What do you want Ian?" Her voice was cold and she sounded a little nervous.

"I just want to talk," he said. He heard her suck in her breath. "Please Anna." She was silent for a long time.

"There's a diner ten blocks from the office. Fran's Diner. Meet me there in twenty minutes."

"I'll be there," he said. It was one of her regular haunts. Her turf. He'd taught her well, he thought with a chuckle.

He found Fran's easily. It was a typical diner. Black and white linoleum floors, red plastic booths with the menus stuck behind the napkin holder. The waitresses wore the stereotypical blue and white uniforms straight out the movies. There was a young man in his twenties flirting with a waitress at the counter. Two police officers, one male one female, sat in a booth by the window. He gave them a slight nod as he passed them. They eyed him suspiciously.

"Still got it," he thought with a smirk. He slid into a booth in the corner. He ordered coffee from the portly black waitress that came to his table. He glanced up at the door and saw Anna enter. She did not come to the table right away. The waitress who stood behind the counter called her name and Anna greeted her with a smile. Ian's stomach clenched as the two chatted like old friends. She made her way to the table passing the booth with the two cops.

"Hey Agent Graves," the young male cop greeted her.

"Good to see ya Joe," she said. "How your little girl?"

"Gonna say her first word any day now," Joe said with a proud grin. Ian felt a slight pain in his chest. What had TJ's first word been? Had Anna's face lit up like Joe's did when he had said it? God, he thought. So much he didn't know. Well, he was determined to fix that. That's why he was here. He knew she was doing her damned best to show him that he was on her turf. He just nodded to her as she slid into the booth across from him.

"Hey there Anna," the waitress greeted her. "Your usual?"

"Just coffee today Mabel," Anna said her eyes never leaving Ian's.

"Saw your daddy in here the other day," Mabel said pouring coffee into Anna's cup. "Was in here with that boy of yours. Getting to be quite a handsome little thing. Gonna be beating the girls off with a stick."

"Don't remind me," Anna said with a wince. Ian couldn't help but smile a little. Mabel left them alone and Anna turned her attention on Ian. She didn't say anything just wrapped her hands around her cup.

"Guess I don't have to ask if you come here often," he said sipping his coffee. Anna raised a brow.

"Only place that makes a decent Reuben for miles," she said matter-of-factly. "You didn't come here to talk about food, Ian. Let's get to the point."

"All right," Ian said. "I want to see my son Anna. I can respect any terms you set but I want time with him." Anna stared at the table. He could feel the tension rolling off her. She would agree, he knew that much. She wasn't stupid. As TJ's father he did have rights. He knew he'd never take her to court, but he also knew Anna would never risk putting TJ through that. It was a dirty pull but she was a stubborn woman.

"Two conditions," she said finally. She set her coffee down and set her hands on the table. She took a deep breath and stared him straight in the eye.

"You only see him at the house. I don't want you coming to my apartment." Ian had been expecting that. 'No men in the apartment' had been her rule as long as he'd known her. She said if she ever had a relationship go south she would always have a safe place to come home to. He'd never even been to her place. She'd always come to his place when they hung out. He imagined she'd only become more unyielding in this particular area since TJ was born.

"I can live with that," he said. From the intel he'd gathered TJ spent more time at the Craftman than his own home anyway, so it wouldn't be a problem.

"The second condition," he asked. Anna sucked in a deep breath and bit her lip.

"You don't tell TJ who you are," she said. "If he asks you're a friend of Don and Charlie's." Ian felt his heart twist a little. He could understand her not wanting TJ to know who he was. It would be extremely confusing for the boy. But it did hurt that Anna wouldn't even acknowledge him as _her_ friend. It made him wonder if he had completely misread what they'd had all those years ago. Is that why she'd run? Is that why she hadn't told him about their child? There would be time to figure all that out later. Right now he had to concentrate on his son.

"All right," he said. It was a bitter victory but Step One was accomplished. Anna nodded and stood up.

"He gets out of school around three, he'll be at my dad's after that," she laid down some money for the coffee and walked away, calling a goodbye to Mabel. Ian sighed. The first battle may be won but it was gonna be a long war.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

After leaving Ian in the diner Anna sat in her car for a long time trying to steady her breathing. She was surprised he hadn't seen right through the calm cool front she'd put up. God, how that man unnerved her. She thought by having him meet her at Fran's, a place where she'd been a regular customer for the last year and a half, a place where people knew her, she would feel more in control. It hadn't worked. The moment he'd looked at her with that knowing expression she'd felt vulnerable. She didn't understand why he made her feel this way. Even back at Quantico she'd never felt like this around him. If she was being truthful with herself she would have to say it had started that night. That night that everything had changed…

_Anna was aware of three things as she slowly opened her eyes. One, she had no idea where she was; two, her side hurt like hell; and three for some reason the rest of her body felt incredibly loose and satisfied. She tried to remember. There was a bank, hostages, gunfire, a knife, Ian…Oh GOD IAN!! She sat straight up and turned to look at the dark warm shape that lay beside her in the bed. OH GOD! Was he…she lifted up the sheet and then immediately put it down. Oh yeah he was. Oh god, how could she have let this happen? How could she have slept with her best friend, not to mention her superior? She had to get out of here. She couldn't breathe. She moved slowly from the bed so as not to wake him. She quickly located her underwear and shoes. She couldn't deal with him right now, telling her it was a mistake, that it shouldn't have happened…tears stung her eyes as she pulled on her jeans. She hurried out of the bedroom and found her blouse on the floor. She let out a small cry as she felt her stitches pull as she tugged on her blouse. She could hear him starting to wake up in the bedroom and rushed out of the apartment. She took the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator. She was nearly out the door when she realized she didn't have her car. Thank god, she thought when she saw a cab. She flagged it down and hopped in quickly. She gave the driver her address and sat back. She managed to hold it together until she was safe in her apartment before she collapsed on the couch, curled into a ball and cried…_

She'd been unable to meet his eye the next day at work. It had almost been a relief when he'd left on that assignment. It gave her time to clear her head, and think about things. She'd almost gotten herself back on kilter when fate had come along and knocked her for a loop again. She'd sat on the bathroom floor for hours just thinking about what to do. She'd handled it the only way she knew how. She couldn't regret the night they'd spent together for that would mean that she regretted her son. It was hard, she'd never deny that, but she never looked back, never wondered what if. Even with all those sleepless nights walking around that tiny little flat in New York trying to soothe a colicky infant to sleep, or sitting up with him when he'd had the chicken pox, and she never once wished it could be different. Nor did she regret bringing him here to LA. It was what they had needed and what was right for them at the time. It had been an adjustment going from being totally on her own to having support from all sides. But she made it work and things were good. Now Ian was back in her life, and her son's, and everything was a mess. She couldn't sit there in the car all day so she drove to Charlie's house.

"Hello," she called.

"Hey," her dad's voice called back. She followed the sound into the dining room where she found him looking over some maps.

"Hey Dad," she said sitting down.

"Uh oh," he said setting down the paper. "I know that look. Is it the shooter case?" he asked.

"No," she said. "No, we're dead ending on that one. He's probably moved onto another town by now."

"So what's up?" he asked. Anna sighed. She supposed she would have to tell him the truth. He deserved to know, especially if Ian was gonna be coming around.

"Dad there's something I need to tell you," she said. "About Ian." Alan raised an eyebrow and folded his hands.

"I'm listening," he said. Anna took a deep breath. This was it. The one secret she'd manage to keep from her father for nearly ten years.

"Ian is TJ's father," she said in one quick breath. Fast, clean. Like ripping off a bandage. She raised her eyes and took in his expression. He was amazingly calm.

"You don't seem surprised," she observed. Alan sighed.

"That's because I'm not. Not really. When he was over here the other day, I uh, sort of got the impression there was a history there. So, uh…Ian's a good guy. I'm assuming that he didn't know about TJ till very recently."

"No," Anna said. "He didn't."

"I see," Alan said. Anna looked at him very slowly searching for anger, judgement, shame, but oddly found none.

"I'm not judging," he said squeezing her hand. "But as an overprotective father, I am curious as to why you chose not to tell your son's father of his existence." Anna ran a hand over her eyes.

"It's complicated Dad," she said. "Ian and I we…" She paused. How did she tell her dad this without it getting incredibly awkward.

"Ian and I were friends. Best friends. We worked well together, we could predict each other's moves. When that changed…"

"You never did like change." Alan said.

"I'm a profiler," she said. "My work, my life is about predicting human behavior. Being able to know how a serial killer, or a rapist is gonna respond. I have seen good people die because they changed the rules."

"So, when the rules of yours and Ian's relationship changed it scared you," Alan said.

"It did," she said. "Then before I could get it settled in my head, suddenly I find out that there's this tiny little life inside me. Needing me."

"And you went into survival mode," Alan said. "Just like you have since you were younger than TJ."

"Yeah," Anna said. "I don't regret leaving D.C. Dad. Or keeping TJ a secret from Ian."

"So, what's weighing so heavy on your shoulders?"

"That once again Ian is taking what's comfortable and familiar and just running over it with a semi-truck." Alan nodded.

"And this time you're not the only one that could get hit," he said gently. Anna sighed and ran her hands through her hair.

"Ian would never hit TJ," she said. "He's rough around the edges but he'd never physically harm a child."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know," Anna said. "He wants to see him. To spend time with him."

"Are you all right with that?" Anna sighed

"He has the right to see his son," Anna said. "I've got no legal cause to keep him from seeing TJ. And he's willing to be reasonable."

"What's reasonable?" Alan asked.

"He'll be seeing him here, not at my place."

"Have you told Charlie about that?"

"Not yet, but I will. I mean it is Charlie's house, technically. Charlie and Don like Ian, I don't think it will be a problem."

"They do like Ian," Alan said putting a hand on her shoulder. "But they love you. When it comes to loyalty family will always come first with those two." Anna smiled.

"I know," she said. "I don't want them to have to take sides. As long as Ian's willing to be reasonable, so am I." Alan nodded.

"So you're willing to let him see TJ," Alan said. "As long as it's here. Do you want me or Charlie here when he comes by?"

"In case Ian tries to take him and run?" Anna asked. She suddenly got a mental image of her father hanging onto the back of Ian's truck as he drove away with TJ. It made her laugh. The concept did give her a bit of unease. If Ian did decide to take TJ and leave, there wasn't a whole lot she or Don or anyone could do. When it came to not being found Ian was the best out there. But she wasn't really worried that Ian would actually do something like that. If he wanted to take TJ he would take him. He would not have gone through the bother of asking her permission to see him.

"It would probably be good if someone was here," Anna said after some thought. "Just till TJ gets comfortable with Ian." Anna bit her lip at that. Would Ian stick around long enough for TJ to become comfortable with him?


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Ian Edgerton was not easily intimidated. He had faced down Al-Queda Soldiers, the Republican Guard, and the worst criminals humanity had ever seen. He had done that and without blinking. But now he faced what was probably his most frightening adversary to date. A nine year old boy.

"It's almost fascinating to see you like this," Don said. They were standing in the living room staring out at the driveway. TJ was out there shooting hoops.

"How?" Ian said his eyes not leaving the boy.

"Scared shitless," Don said. Ian did not look at him but he could hear the snark in his voice.

"What the hell was I thinking Don," he said. "I don't know anything about kids. I wouldn't know the first thing to say to him."

"Well," Don said. "The best I can tell you is just start out simple. Meet him on common ground."

"He's a nine year old kid and I'm a sniper. What common ground do we have?"

"DNA?" Don said.

"You are aware that I can kill you from a hundred yards away right?" Ian said. Don grinned.

"Okay, okay," he said. "Well, you ever play basketball?" Ian tilted his head. He had played, but not for a long time.

"A little bit," he said. "He probably knows more than I do." Ian watched as TJ tried to do a layup. He winced as the ball bounced off the rim and the kid said something that would probably have Anna washing his mouth out with soap if she heard it.

"He's been trying to nail that layup for months," Don said. "We've all tried working with him. Charlie's the only decent basketball player in the family and he turns all his coaching sessions to math." Ian watched TJ for a bit. He studied his movements just as he would study any target. He stepped out onto the porch and made his way down to the driveway. He stayed still and silent as TJ tried again. The ball bounced off the backboard and shot towards Ian who quickly caught it in both hands.

"You're disconnected," he told the frustrated boy passing the ball back.

"Huh?" TJ said looking at him skeptically. Ian held out his hands to demonstrate.

"Your feet are doing one thing and your hands another. It all needs to flow together in one smooth motion." To demonstrate he held out his hands for the ball which TJ passed to him. He bounced the ball a few times. He took a deep breath, stepped forward raised the ball and hooked it into the basket.

"Wow," TJ said. "How'd you do that?" Ian caught the ball and tossed it from hand to hand.

"I'm sure your coach tells you step one do this, step two do that?" TJ nodded.

"Step one come off the back foot, step two keep the hand your holding the ball steady…."

"You want to hit your target, you can't think of it as separate steps. You gotta take all the steps and make them into one smooth motion." It was the same lecture he gave to students at Quantico. Taking something you know and applying it to a situation your audience can relate to. Charlie would be proud.

"Kind of like, the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts," TJ said. "That's what my uncle Charlie would say."

"Yeah kind of," he said. The kid was giving him an appraising stare as he passed he bounced the ball at his side. The shrewd look in the kid's eyes, studying, sizing him up, was all too familiar.

"Good God," Ian thought. "It's hereditary." He took a deep breath. "No fear."

"Try it," he dared him. TJ gave him a look of skepticism but he took the ball in his hands and focused on the basket. He screwed up his face and stepped forward raising the ball as he moved toward the basket. With a hook of his wrist the ball swished through the net. The look on the kid's face was a mix of astonishment and pure joy.

"I did it!" he said pumping his fist in the air.

"Nice job," Ian said with a small smile. He picked up the ball as it rolled past him.

"Try again," he said tossing him the ball. The boy practiced the shot a few more times, doing exactly as Ian said.

"See," Ian said as TJ sunk the ball for the sixth time. "You do that every time and you'll always sink it."

"Thanks," TJ said. He looked up from the ball and cocked his head at Ian. "You work with my mom and my uncles right?"

"That's right," Ian said carefully. Anna didn't want TJ to know too much and he planned on respecting that. That meant he'd have to be careful about what he said.

"Are you an FBI agent?" he asked. "Or do you just help out like Uncle Charlie and Aunt Amita?"

"I'm an agent," Ian said. "Like your Uncle Don."

"You ever kill anyone?" Ian raised an eyebrow. Why was that always the first question people asked when they found out what he did?  
"Only bad guys," he said. "And only when I don't have another choice."

"My mom says violence should always be the last resort when you're in a confrontation."

"She's right," Ian said. "We never take a life unless there's no other choice." TJ cocked his head.

"How do you know when you don't have a choice?" he asked. Ian paused. It was a question he was used to getting from his cadets not a nine year old boy.

"Well," he said, not entirely certain how much he should say. He didn't want to give the kid nightmares. Wouldn't exactly be the best way to bond with his son, plus Anna would have his balls in a sling.

"It takes training," he said. "At Quantico we teach you how to evaluate your enemy. So you can make the right decision. Then you can decide whether you have to take the kill shot or if there's another option."

"So you're a teacher?" the boy asked.

"Sometimes," he said. "Sometimes I do other things."

"Quantico's like a school right? Where you learn to be an FBI agent?"

"Something like that," Ian said.

"I think my Uncle Don taught there. But that was a long time ago. He used to go after bad guys that escaped. "

"He told you about that?" Ian asked.

"Yeah," TJ said. "Not a lot though. Mom doesn't like me to know too much about her work. I always know when a story is gonna be bad. Mom gives Uncle Don this look." He demonstrated by raising his eyes and giving Ian a very pointed look.

"Uncle Don always clears his throat and changes the subject when Mom gives him that look." Ian laughed.

"Yeah, well I'm sure they just want to protect you. They see a lot of ugly things in this job."

"What about you?" Ian pressed him lips together. Half of the things he had seen would give a grown man the shakes. His stories were not for nine year old ears.

"Yeah," he said. "I see a lot of ugly things. So your uncle tells me you got a pretty wicked jump shot. Want to show me?" They played a little one on one for about the next hour. Ian got his ass handed to him. He was in great shape but he had neither the skill or the energy to match the nine year old. He was sweating and trying to catch his breath when reprieve came.

"Hey bubba," Anna said coming from the house. The breath Ian had been trying to catch flew out of him as he watched her go to the boy and brush the hair out of his eyes. Seeing the two of them together made his heart ache in ways he couldn't imagine. He wanted nothing more than to hold the both of them.

'Not yet,' he told himself. 'Just be patient.'

"You giving Agent Edgerton a run for his money?" She asked giving him a sly grin. It was humbling for him for Anna to see him obviously getting his ass kicked by their son.

"Ian taught me how to do a layup!" the kid said excitedly. "I can't wait to show coach. He'll have to start me on Saturday."

"That's great," Anna said with a little surprise. "But we need to get home. School tomorrow. Go grab your stuff."

"Okay," he said. "See ya later Ian."

"Definitely," he said. "I want a rematch." TJ giggled.

"Anytime, anywhere," he said. Ian shook his head as TJ scampered into the house. Ian waited till the door had slammed behind him to collapse on the driveway. He stared up at Anna's grinning face.

"How's it feel to get whooped by a kid?" she asked.

"It sucks," he said.

"Welcome to my world," she said chuckling.

"Could you try not to enjoy this so much," he asked.

"I doubt it," she said. She sat down beside him on the pavement. He turned his head a little to look at her. He could smell her sweet distinctive scent. God she was beautiful.

"I don't think I've seen you this winded since that drug bust in Arlington," she said.

"Who knew a two hundred fifty pound Samoan could run so fast," Ian said remembering. Anna grinned. He felt something in his chest rise. It had been so long since he'd seen that grin aimed at him.

"He's a great kid, Anna," Ian said sincerely. Anna eyes got a little dreamy.

"I'm kind of crazy 'bout him," she said.

"I'm surprised you didn't have him go out for soccer, that's kind of your sport isn't it?" Anna winced.

"We tried, there was an incident. We're trying to forget about it." Ian raised a brow. She held up a hand. He left it alone.

"It must have been hard," he said carefully. "Raising him by yourself." He knew he was pushing into dangerous territory by the way he saw her spine stiffen.

"It was hard," she said not meeting his eye. "But I did what I had to. I've no regrets." He nodded. He decided not to push for more. A wise man knew when to back off.

"There is something I've been wondering about since I met him," he said. Anna stared straight out in front of her.

"What's that," she said.

"What does TJ stand for?" He saw her spine relax and she smiled a little.

"Thomas Jacob," she said softly. "After my mother's father Thomas Mann and my father's grandfather Jacob Eppes. It's a Jewish custom to name your child after a departed relative or friend."

"Didn't know you followed Jewish customs," Ian said.

"I don't," she said. "But I think that's a good one. And I knew it would mean a lot to my parents."

"So who are you named after?" he asked.

"My mom's great aunt," she said. "I think. Or maybe it was my dad's great grandmother. I'm not sure."

"And your brothers?" Anna pressed her lips together in thought.

"Charlie was my paternal grandfather's name. I think Donald was a friend of my parents that got killed in Vietnam. I think that was part of the reason they joined the Hippie movement."

"Alan as a hippie," Ian said trying to picture it.

"Oh yeah," Anna said. "I've seen pictures. Wasn't pretty." Ian smiled. He had more questions but TJ returned at that moment.

"Mom why are you sitting on the ground?" he asked her. Anna quickly stood up.

"Just making sure Agent Edgerton doesn't need CPR after the beating he just took," she said. Ian rolled his eyes as TJ howled with laughter.

"Laugh it up, squirt," he muttered. "I'll have my vengeance."

"How 'bout same time next week," TJ said. Ian looked up at Anna. She looked uncomfortable for a moment but she nodded.

"Sounds good."

"Okay buddy," Anna said. "We gotta go."

"Kay," TJ said. "Bye Ian." He watched as they went into the house.

"Good bye son," he said.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Okay," Megan said. "Thirty-love. Game point." Anna gripped her racket hard anticipating her opponent's move. Megan tossed the little yellow ball into the air and sent it over the net. Amita darted forward and sent the ball back. Anna dashed up and sent the ball toward Robin with a smooth back hand. Robin lunged out and grunted a curse as the ball slid past her racket to hit the court.

"Game! Set! Match!" Megan cheered. Anna slapped Megan a high five.

"I give up!" Amita said. "Professors and lawyers just are no match for FBI agents."

"I guess that's what happens when you spend your days behind a desk instead of out chasing bad guys," Anna taunted her brothers' girlfriends.

"Next match we are definitely mixing up the partners," Robin said grabbing her towel and mopping her sweaty forehead. Anna grabbed her bottle of water and took a long swig.

"Looks like the boys are having fun," Megan said gesturing toward the basketball court a few yards away. Anna smiled as she watched TJ, Charlie and Ian take on Don, David and Colby. Ian definitely did better playing on the same side as TJ rather than against him. She watched as Charlie shot the ball to Ian who passed it to TJ who scored. She felt a small ache in her chest as Ian and TJ high-fived.

"They seem to be getting along pretty well," Amita observed. Anna sighed. Ian had been coming by the house almost every day to hang out with TJ. They would shoot hoops, or play video games. She'd even seen Ian helping TJ with his homework. Ian was quickly becoming another male figure in TJ's life.

"But for how long?" she wondered aloud.

"What do you mean?" Robin asked gently. Anna sighed and plopped down on a bench.

"This week he and TJ are best pals. But what happens tomorrow or next week when Ian decides he's tired of being in one place and needs to get back out on the hunt?"

"You're worried he's gonna take off and TJ's gonna be heartbroken."

"Yeah," Anna said. "I know Ian. He's not the type to stay in one place for long."

"Well maybe his had a change of priorities," Amita said. "He's stayed around this long."

"Fatherhood can change a man," Robin said.

"Even if we could work out some kind of joint custody arrangement, he lives in D.C. What kind of relationship can they really build living a country apart?"

His base is in D.C. but he could just as easily base in L.A.," Robin said.

"I have heard him say he always has the best time working with Don and Charlie," Amita pointed out.

"Maybe he'd be open to it," Megan said. "You should ask him." Anna bit her lip. The arguments her friends made were good ones. She just didn't know if she could ask such a thing of Ian. Especially when she wasn't really sure she wanted him to stay. Ever since Ian had become a part of her life again her emotions had been waging battle inside of her. Seeing him with TJ, trying so hard to be a father figure even though it was completely out of character for him, was making her face some hard truths.

"_I seem to recall waking up to an empty bed long before TJ would have even been a thought in your mind…"_

Ian had been right when he'd said that things weren't right with them before. She hadn't known how to deal with the major jolt their relationship had taken. How did two people go from being comrades and best friends to jumping each other? Her son sank a basket and let out a whoop.

"Looks like we have a victory," Megan said as Charlie high fived TJ and Ian rumpled his hair. The ladies picked up their rackets and went to join the men.

"Hey boys," Robin said. "How was the game?"

"Humility thy name is TJ," Don said punching TJ in the arm. TJ grinned.

"We kicked butt," TJ told his mother proudly.

"Well the Graves family walks tall today," Amita said giving Charlie a sweaty kiss. "Your sister kicked our asses."

"Whoah," Colby said. "Language round the child."

"TJ knows the deal about those sort of words," Anna said.

"Not till I'm old enough to get cut off in traffic," TJ said matter of factly. The adults raised their eyebrows.

"If I wanted to lead by example I'd have to put tape over my mouth when I drive him to school," Anna said with a shrug. She caught Ian's smirk. The group headed back to Charlie's house to continue their day of fun and recreation. Charlie and David took over the playstation while Ian, Don, TJ and Colby took the pool table. Anna, after grabbing herself a beer, planted herself in the garage to observe the boy's game. She had always been extremely observant of human behavior. Since she was a kid she loved to just sit and watch people, observing. Don used to joke that Charlie could predict where his hits would go by his stance, Anna could predict if a woman was going to reject him by _her_ stance. Right now the focus of her observations was Ian. The way his eyes never left his son's face, the way he would casually touch him. Hand on the shoulder, gentle ruffle of his hair. The movements were familiar. She'd seen her own father touch her brothers that way many times in the past.

"Establishing contact," she thought to herself. "Reassuring himself that the boy is still there." She bit her lip as she remembered that Ian would do the same thing to her after an especially bad case. The night they'd been together had probably been the worst case they'd ever had. In the time they'd worked together it was the closest she'd ever come to dying. There'd been such desperation in the way he had touched her and kissed her. Like he needed to touch her just to believe she was there. Fear and adrenaline. That was how her boy had come to exist. She smiled as TJ sank a ball and let out a whoop of joy. Ian squeezed his shoulder affectionately. Ian raised his eyes to her and she met his gaze without flinching. Whatever the circumstances were then she couldn't deny that the conclusions she'd drawn about what kind of father Ian would make could not have been more wrong.

Anna ran her hands over her eyes. She'd been staring at her computer screen for the last three hours trying to come up with some new idea on their shooter. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. There had to be something she hadn't thought of. Something that connected these victims. She opened her as her cell buzzed in her pocket.

"Graves," she answered.

"Hey Anna, it's Robin. Don't kill me when I tell you this."

"That doesn't sound good," Anna said sitting up.

"Timothy Breskin," Robin said.

"Don't tell me…"

"It's been moved up. To Tuesday."

"What!" Anna shouted making three people around her jump.

"I don't know what kind of rabbit Breskin's lawyer pulled out of his hat with the Judge but he got him to move the trial."

"That only gives us four days to prepare," Anna said frantically.

"Which is why we really need to get started tonight," Robin said. "I'm on my way over to your office right now." Anna bit her lip and glanced at the clock. TJ needed to picked up from practice in twenty minutes. Her Dad was on a fishing trip with some of his friends, Charlie and Amita were in San Diego for a conference, Don was out chasing down a lead, Megan was out on a date with Larry, and she didn't have the first clue where David and Colby were. She rubbed her eyes. There was only one person she could think of to call and she really didn't want to.

"Anna, you there?"

"Yeah," she said. "Yeah I'll be here Robin. I'll go ahead and pull up everything I have on Breskin. See you soon." She hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment. After debating with herself and realizing she really didn't have another choice she dialed Ian's number. She drummed her fingers nervously against the desk as the phone rang.

"Edgerton," his voice said.

"Hey it's me," she said.

"What's up?"

"Uh, are you um doing anything right now?" she said hating the hitch in her voice.

"Just looking over some old files. Not getting anywhere, why what do you need?" She sighed.

"A babysitter," she said her face getting red. She was glad he couldn't see how uncomfortable she felt right now.

"I beg your pardon?" She could hear the amusement in his voice. She gritted her teeth.

"One of Robin's cases of which I'm her key witness got pushed up and she needs to go over my testimony tonight. All my backups are busy or MIA."

"You're asking me for help?" Anna rolled his eyes.

"Yes," she said. "I'm asking you for help. And yes it is agonizingly painful for me." He chuckled.

"What do you need me to do?" She rubbed her eyes.

"He gets done with practice at 7:30. FDR Elementary school it's on Jencroft Drive."

"I know where it is," he said. Anna's fist clenched. Ian had done some field work. "You want me to take him to your brother's?"Her fist unclenched. He had been so good about respecting her boundaries. She knew he'd been staying at a motel since he'd been in town. That he would know that TJ would feel more comfortable at the house meant a lot.

"He and I usually go out to dinner Friday nights," she said softly. Her heart ached that her work had to come before her son.

"Any place in particular?" he said understanding in his voice. She swallowed.

"He likes Ernesto's," she said. "It's this pizza joint on Fourth."

"I've been there," he said. "Last time I was in LA. Only decent pizza place in LA if you ask me." She smiled a little.

"As a former New Yorker I have to agree. If you could take him to Charlie's house after that would be great. Um, Charlie's out of town but there's a spare key under the flower pot on the front stoop."

"Okay," Ian said. "What time you think you'll be done?"

"God, who knows. Serial killer, we're pushing for the death penalty, could take all night. If I'm not there by ten he's got PJ's and all that in Don's old room. Ten thirty sharp is his bedtime on Fridays no matter what he may try to convince you of."

"Got it," Ian said. "Anything else I need to know?"

"I think that's it. Call me right away if there's any trouble.

"Will do," he said. "Anna?"

"Yeah?"

"We'll be fine," he said. "Just concentrate on your case okay. Don't worry."

"Sorry," she said. "I'm a mom. Worrying is what we do."

"Yeah," Ian said. "I'm starting to get that."

"Thanks," she said.

"He's my kid too right?" Ian said. Anna smiled.

"Yeah," Anna said. "He is."

Anna worked with Robin till nearly midnight. She could barely keep her eyes open as she drove to Charlie's house. She smiled a bit as she saw Ian's truck in the driveway. She went into the house and found Ian on the couch. She paused in the archway to the living room and just studied him for a moment. He wore faded jeans and a green sweater. He was engrossed in the book he was reading. She looked a little closer and saw it was Harry Potter. She couldn't hold back the giggle that escaped her. He glanced up.

"What?" he said.

"Not your usual reading material," she said. Ian shrugged.

"TJ and I were reading a little, and it kind of sucked me in." Anna grinned.

"So it all went okay?" she asked.

"Well we had a little disagreement when he tried to convince me that he only had to brush his teeth once a week but other than that…" Anna laughed.

"We had a good time," Ian said. "We came back here and I trounced him at Smackdown. He took it like a man." Anna nodded.

"What did you tell him when you picked him up?"

"That you needed to work late to make sure a bad guy went away and would he mind hanging out with me?"

"Was he upset?"

"A little disappointed maybe. But he was pretty much over it by the time we got to the restaurant.

"Oh, yeah," she said. "How much do I owe you?

"You don't owe me anything," Ian said frowning.

"You were doing me a favor," she said shaking her head.

"Spending time with my kid isn't a favor Anna."

"If you insist," she said. She was too tired to argue with him. She set her purse down and collapsed in a chair.

"You look exhausted," he said. Anna sighed.

"I know why Robin's got such a good track record for convictions. She and I went over my testimony backwards, frontwards, sideways and every way you can possibly think of. I'm gonna be testifying in my sleep. I mean granted it's important to be thorough. Breskin's a sexual sadist who gets off on torturing women. I want him to go down as much as the next guy."

"Yeah, defense attorneys just love to take apart profilers," Ian said. "Make it all seem like guesswork."

"Tell me about it," Anna said.

"If you hungry TJ and I had a couple slices left over. They're in the fridge."

"That was sweet," she said.

"His idea," Ian said. "Said you're usually hungry when you work late, cause you forget to eat." Anna narrowed her eyes and stood up to go to the kitchen.

"What else did that kid of mine tell you?" she asked opening the fridge. She grabbed the plate with two slices of pepperoni pizza on it and popped it into the microwave.

"What you think I spent the evening trying to pry information out of our son? Would I do such a thing?" Anna glanced at him over her shoulder and gave him a pointed look.

"All right I may have asked a few innocent questions. But he's a tough nut to crack. He didn't give you up."

"That's my boy," she said proudly. Ian smiled.

"He loves you a lot," Ian said. Anna smiled.

"Feelings mutual," she said. She pulled the pizza from the microwave and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"I checked on him about twenty minutes ago," Ian said as she sat down and took a bite of her food. "He was sawing logs." She nodded.

"I'll probably stay here tonight," she said. "Wouldn't be the first time I slept in my old room."

"I guess I'll take off then," Ian said.

"Thanks for doing this Ian," Anna said. "I appreciate it."

"Like I said," Ian said kindly. "He's my kid too." Anna smiled.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Ian listened intently as his son talked about his day at school. For the last couple weeks Anna'd been allowing him to see TJ more. Ian had to admit he was loving it. He was crazy about the kid. He'd never thought he had what it took to be a parent but after spending time with TJ he had to admit that fatherhood was a great job. It was nice to have a conversation that consisted of the latest Spiderman comic or the new ten speed a classmate had gotten for his birthday rather than bank robbers and gun calibers. More than anything though, it was the look of absolute trust and lack of intimidation when the boy looked at him. Like there wasn't any doubt in his mind that Ian was someone he was safe with. People he worked with put their lives in his hands every day. Don, Colby, David, Megan, they trusted him to have their backs when things got dicey. But it wasn't the same as having the trust of an innocent child. Now if he could just find a way to get the kid's mother to trust him like that. The awkwardness he'd heard in her voice the night she'd asked him to babysit TJ bothered him more than he'd let on. He knew she hated asking anyone for help but with him it seemed harder. Why? Why wouldn't she let him in? She had trusted him once. She had walked into many dangerous confrontations where the chances of getting killed were incredibly high, never doubting that he would protect her. When she'd been on the verge of a nervous breakdown after watching a teenage girl get shot right in front of her he had been the one she called. She trusted him with her son, the most precious thing in the world to her. That was a trust she put in only a handful of people. But he couldn't seem to break down this wall she'd put up between them. She avoided being alone with him. She was subtle about it, but he was a little too sharp not to notice how she always made sure there was at least one other person in close proximity whenever he was around. How she would suddenly need to get coffee, or talk to Don whenever she found herself alone in a room with him at the office. It was almost like she was afraid of him. The thought that Anna was scared of him was agonizing. It made him wonder about that night they'd spent together that had resulted in the boy that sat beside him as he drove to the office. He'd fantasized so many times about being with her. In his fantasies they'd gone slow, savoring every moment, drawing out every last ounce of pleasure before going over the edge together and then when he woke up she would be beside him and he would just stare into her eyes. He'd always loved her eyes. They were so dark and haunting. In his fantasy they would gaze at him full of passion and fire as he made love to her. What they'd done that night could hardly be called love. Lust, need, desire, adrenaline, maybe. He wondered even now if she regretted it. If that was why she'd left before he'd woken up and been so edgy with him the next day. Why she'd left D.C. without a word.

"Why are we going to Mom's office?" TJ asked suddenly. Ian pushed his thoughts of Anna aside for the moment and focused on his son.

"Your Mom asked me to bring you there when I picked you up since your grandpa's busy."

"She still thinks I need a babysitter," TJ said with a slight pout.

"Well she's the boss, she's the mom." They pulled in front of the building. Ian flashed his badge at the desk guard who knew him by sight by now and waved him in.

"Hi Drew," TJ said to the guard.

"Hey TJ," the guard greeted the boy. Apparently, TJ was no stranger around the office. They rode the elevator up to the fourth floor. Anna was nowhere to be seen but David and Colby were huddled around their cube.

"Hey TJ, my man." David greeted the boy.

"Hi Uncle David."

"You boys look hard at work," Ian said teasing. Both men looked a little embarrassed and TJ giggled.

"What are you laughing at shortie?" Colby said poking TJ in the side. TJ only giggled harder.

"This kid bothering you gentlemen," Don said coming up from behind and putting TJ in a headlock. "Looks a little shady."

"Yeah I caught him lurking around," Ian said. "Definitely a suspicious looking character."

"Definitely up to no good," David said.

"What's the penalty for not cleaning your room these days?" Colby said.

"It's what…twenty to life now," Don said.

"At least," Ian said.

"I clean my room," TJ said indignantly.

"Sure, that's what they all say," Don said releasing his nephew and turning to Ian. "I need to talk to you." Ian nodded and followed Don into a room.

"What's up?"

"We may have a lead on our shooter."

"What kind of lead?"

"Seattle PD pulled a guy over for a busted tail light. The approaching officer spotted a rifle in the guy's back seat. Brought him in for suspicious behavior."

"What kind of rifle?"

"Dakota T-76 Longbow." Ian let out a long slow whistle.

"That's one of the most accurate rifles out there. Right shooter behind it, it's capable of shots almost a mile away. Haven't used one since I left the army."

"Well, they matched the bullet to the ones that killed all our victims."

"They gonna give us grief about interrogating him?"

"We got the case two months ago it's officially our jurisdiction."

"Seattle," Ian said, glancing at his watch. "Bout a day's drive. If I leave now I can be there by noon tomorrow."

"You should take Anna with you," Don said. Ian's stomach clenched.

"What?"

"I need one of my people out there. Anna's the best profiler we've got, plus she's got a gift when it comes to making nice with local law enforcement."

"Twenty-four hours in a truck with Anna," Ian said. "She's gonna have some serious objections."

"Well when all's said and done I'm still her boss." Ian sighed. This was gonna be fun.

As he'd predicted Anna was not too happy with the concept of a day long road trip with him. The shouting match she had gotten into with Don when he'd informed her of it could be heard all over the building. Needless to say she'd not been in the best of moods. Also, due to her joining him they couldn't leave right away. It was almost seven when he pulled up in front of the Craftsman. He hopped out of the truck and grabbed her bags. She was too busy giving her father instructions to protest. He turned and saw TJ behind him.

"Hey kid," he said.

"How long will you be gone?" he asked softly. Ian felt a knot in his stomach. Was this how Anna felt whenever she had to leave him?

"Not long," he said. "Few days, max."

"Will you do me a favor?" TJ asked.

"If I can," Ian said. TJ glanced over at his mother who was still talking to Alan.

"Take care of my Mom okay," TJ said in a small voice. "Make sure nothing bad happens to her." Ian felt his heart melt.

"I promise kiddo," he said. "I won't let anything happen to your mother." TJ grinned. Ah, the innocence of a child.

"Anna, for pete's sake it's not like I haven't taken care of a kid before," Alan finally said. "If you don't get on the road it's gonna be dark before you hit Salinas. We'll be fine." Anna sighed. She was stalling. Ian could see in her face she was dreading being alone with him. He hated this. He hated that the woman who he'd spent so many hours with going over victimology, strategizing sting operations, hanging out in bars after work, just talking to, was afraid to be near him. She gave him a quick look and turned away.

"Okay," Anna said. "Give me a hug bubba. Be good, do your homework, go to bed when Grandpa tells you."

"Don't fill up on junk food, don't run with knives…." TJ said in whiny sort of voice. Ian fought not to smile. The kid might act tough but he knew how much he loved his mother. How protective he was of her.

"All right smart guy," Anna said giving him a little shove. "We'll be back in a few days." Finally, unable to put it off any longer Anna hopped into the truck. Ian shook hands with Alan and high fived TJ and slid into the driver's seat.

They had been driving for nearly two hours and she hadn't said one word to him. The moment he'd pulled out of the driveway she'd picked up the file on Enrique Marquez and had been reading it ever since.

"Don't you have that thing memorized it by now?" he asked finally breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" she said glancing up.

"You know you will have to speak to me eventually," he said. "You're gonna be stuck with me in this truck for the next couple days. "

"If you need background noise put a CD in," she said curtly. He sighed. This was gonna be a long couple days. He took her advice and popped in a CD. The sound of Bruce Springsteen filled the emptiness in the car. He found himself tapping the steering wheel along with the beat. After a bit he could hear her singing softly along with the words.

"Still into 'The Boss'?" she said as the song ended and the next started.

"Can't go wrong with the boss," he said. She chuckled. He smiled. Finally, she was talking. Leave it to Springsteen to break the tension. It wasn't the first time.

_She would be here soon. After popping the frozen pizza in the oven and turning on the stereo for background noise, he gave the apartment a once over. It was fairly clean considering he was hardly ever here. He picked up a pair of boots that had been haphazardly thrown on the floor and tossed them in a closet. The magazines that were scattered over his coffee table he stacked neatly. The dishes that were in the sink he quickly washed and put away. He didn't know why he was nervous. It was just Anna. They'd hung out plenty of times before. But never here, at his apartment. When she'd told him she was planning on spending Christmas Eve alone he'd felt his heart ache. He hated the idea of her being alone today. So he'd invited her over to watch movies and hang out. She'd seemed a little surprised by the offer, but after a great deal of contemplation she'd accepted. She'd offered to supply the movies. She'd laughed when he begged her not to make him watch It's a Wonderful Life. She'd said she was thinking comedy to which he'd agreed. After the last couple weeks they'd had they could both use a good laugh. He finished the dishes just as he heard the knock on his door. He opened it to find her covered in snow. She wore a dark wool coat and a matching black hat and scarf. Over the top of her scarf he could she her cheeks were red from the cold. _

"_Come on in," he said._

"_Thanks," she said. "It's absolutely frigid out there." He chuckled as he took the bag from the video store. He set it on the table and took her coat. _

"_I will never get used to this cold," she said stripping of her hat scarf and boots. He couldn't help but stare. She was dressed in a thick gray sweater, jeans and thick wool socks. Her dark hair was falling down from the knot she had it in. Her face was flushed from the cold. _

"_I'm a little windblown," she said running a hand over her hair. _

"_You look great," he said. If possible her face got even redder. She shifted nervously on her sock clad feet. Seemed he wasn't the only one who was a bit nervous. She tilted her head._

"_Springsteen?" she said. "Not exactly Jingle Bells."_

"_Hey," he protested lightly. "Don't be putting down the boss. He's one of the great artists of our time." She smiled. God, she was beautiful when she smiled. _

"_I got nothing against 'the boss'. He's done some nice work. I just don't usually listen to him at Christmas."_

"_Well, I would have stocked up on Bing Crosby but I ran out of time." She laughed. He laid a hand on her shoulder and guided her into the living room. _

"_Nice place," she said. _

"_Yeah," he said. "I'm not here much. So what movies do we have?" He grabbed the bag and pulled out four DVDs._

"_Some Like It Hot? Arsenic and Old Lace? Bringing Up Baby? It Happened One Night? These are all in black and white. I thought you were getting comedies."_

"_Those happen to be classics of the comedy genre," she said placing her hands on her hips. _

"_All the people in them are dead," Ian said. Anna shook her head._

"_Oh ye of little faith," she said. "Just you wait. You'll be laughing your butt off. I guarantee it."_

"_If you say so," he said. He turned to go into the kitchen as the timer went off. "That's the pizza. Make yourself at home." He put the pizza onto a cutting board and cut it into slices. She came into the kitchen and asked if he needed any help. He handed her the cutting board with the pizza on it. _

"_Why don't you take that into the living room, I'll grab us a couple beers," he said. He grabbed a couple plates out of the cupboard and got two beers out of the fridge. A couple paper towels would have to suffice as napkins. They popped in the first movie and settled down on the sofa. Just as Cary Grant discovered a dead body in the window seat he noticed Anna was shivering a little. He reached behind the sofa for the blue fleece throw he kept back there and laid it over her legs. She gave him a small smile._

"_Thanks," she said shyly. "California blood."_

"_Don't mention it," he said patting her knee._

It had definitely been one of the best Christmases he'd had in a long time. She'd been right about the movies. If he had to take a guess he would say that that was when he had started having feelings for her. Hearing her laugh, seeing her relaxed and not burdened down by a case had giving him a great feeling. She'd fallen asleep on his sofa and he'd decided not to wake her. She'd been a little embarrassed about it the next morning but he'd waved off her apologies using the excuse that the roads were so bad it was safer for her to have stayed. The truth was it had felt right having her there on Christmas morning. That first Christmas after she'd left was the most miserable he'd ever felt. He'd have given anything to get her back. Well, if he had anything to say about it he would never spend Christmas alone again.

"Still with me over there Edgerton?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Just thinking we should stop soon for gas and food."

"Sounds good to me," she said setting aside the file and stretching her arms over her head. "I think the next exit is in about five miles. We can switch drivers if you're getting drowsy."

"That won't be necessary," he said with a slight growl. This was an old battle.

"1150 miles from LA to Seattle," she said her tone slightly mocking.

"I've gone farther than that on no sleep," he said.

"You just don't want to let me drive your truck," she said knowingly.

"I've driven with you before," he said. "You're crazier than I am."

"Hey I've become a much safer driver since last time you rode shotgun." He supposed that was true. Having a kid in the passenger seat would tend to make a person tone down aggressive tendencies. But he still wasn't moved.

"Not a chance in hell sweetheart," he said. She laughed.

"Speaking of..." he said. "Whatever happened to that heap you used to drive?"

"Speak of Bessie with some respect would you please?" she said rolling her eyes. "Poor thing died on the operating table. May she rest in peace."

"My condolences," Ian said sarcastically.

"Thank you," Anna said. "She lived a long full life and besides she wasn't really ideal for hauling TJ around." Ian smiled. He'd brought up a past memory they both shared and she hadn't stiffened or flinched. It was progress. It seemed that as long as he didn't bring up the last nine years, unless it was directly about TJ she was okay with it. They pulled off at the next exit. Ian filled the tank while Anna went to the restaurant across the street to get them some dinner. She returned with two steaming cups of coffee and a couple burgers. He noticed she hadn't got fries. Was it because she remembered he didn't like them? He hoped so. He couldn't help chuckling as she bit into her burger.

"What?" she asked.

"Just remembering the first time you joined the team for dinner at that steakhouse." She tilted her head and then chuckled.

"Oh yes," she said. "Everyone was so astonished when I finished off that porterhouse. They all assumed being from California I must be a vegetarian."

"And you told us that your family would disown you if you gave up red meat."

"Still would," she said thoughtfully. "My dad's forgiven me for a lot in my life. Getting suspended from school, passing up Berkeley to be a G-man, having a child out of wedlock, but if I ever gave up red meat…" Ian laughed.

"Suspended?"

"Couldn't let that one go, could you?"

"Nope," he said. "I must know all about your deep dark past." She shook her head and took a sip of her coffee.

"Sophomore year of high school," she said. "I'm in a stall in the girl's room and I hear this little blonde bimbo who I can't stand named Missy Strider gossiping with all her little blonde minions."

"Let me guess," Ian said. "Head cheerleader."

"Lost out to Kimberly Haftner, after which an ugly rumor that Haftner stuffs her bra with her brother's socks started to spread. So I hear Missy clucking to her cronies about me."

"What, that you stuffed your bra?"

"I didn't need to stuff," Anna said smugly. "No, she liked to use words like, white trash, dyke, cunt."

"Whew," Ian whistled. "What'd you do?" Anna smiled.

"Very calmly opened the stall, walked to the sink. Missy and her little bimbettes are just standing there with these deer caught in the headlights looks on their faces. I wash my hands, dry them off, throw the towel in the trash, and turn around and punch Missy right in the face."

"Oh man," Ian said. "I'd have given anything to have seen that." Anna chuckled.

"God," Anna said. "High school is such a turbulent time for a kid. Kids being cruel to each other for no other reason than that they can be. Makes me worry about TJ. He'll be in High School before I know it."

"You're not gonna have to worry about TJ," Ian said reassuringly. "I honestly can't see that kid picking on someone just for the heck of it."

"I hope so," she said softly. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She seemed to be relaxing a bit. Lowering her defenses.  
"Can I ask you something?" he said.

"Depends," she said raising an eyebrow.

"Why'd you leave New York?" She suddenly became very interested in her coffee. He wasn't sure she was going to answer.

"What did Don tell you?" she asked after a long silence.

"He didn't know the facts. He figured it was cause of TJ."

"It was," she said. "To some extent." She sighed. He was about to tell her to forget he asked when she spoke.

"Four boys had been abducted," she said. "All of them between the ages of six and nine. We'd find their bodies about eight days after they'd disappear. Beaten, raped, tortured. The Mayor was putting the pressure on my supervisor to find this son of a bitch."

"Did you?"

"We took all the steps. Interviewed witnesses, went through all the list of registered pedophiles, but nothing. A fifth boy went missing from a park. Witnesses all described the same man who'd been talking to the kid minutes before. Description fit a registered sex offender perfectly. Wade Simpson. Busted for running a child pornography ring. We raided the creep's house found the usual. Studio set up in the living room, tapes, pictures, made me want to throw up. The kid was tied up in the basement. So everyone figures case closed."

"Everyone but you," Ian guessed.

"This guy was a creep no doubt about it, but there was no evidence that he'd killed those other boys. Creeps who deal with child porn rarely beat or rape the kids they use. Plus, none of the other boys showed up in any of the pictures or tapes. But the mayor was satisfied and so my boss dropped the case and told me to do the same. Three weeks later NYPD pulls over a guy for running a stop sign. The dead body of a seven year old boy was in the trunk. He'd been beaten and raped. Our guy was driving around looking for a place to dump the body." Her voice broke a little he reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

"Another kid died because my boss gave into political pressure and didn't look at the profile. Seven years old."

'The same age TJ would have been,' Ian thought.

"I requested a transfer a week later. I couldn't continue to work for a man I couldn't respect."

"So you decided to work for your older brother," Ian said.

"Don can be a real hard head when he thinks he's right about something. But he'd never put politics above his principals."

"Don's a good guy," Ian said. "And one hell of an agent. I thought so the first time I met him. Not a lot of agents would pull their mathematician little brother in to help them figure out a case."

"Yeah," Anna nodded. "When Don first told me about Charlie helping him out I thought I'd stepped into a parallel universe. Till I saw it for myself I never believed it."

"And now all three of you are working together. One big happy family."

"Yeah right," Anna said. Ian smiled. Around 2am they decided to look for a place to crash for the night. They found a small motel that looked decent enough that had a vacancy sign.

"We should get an early start tomorrow," Ian said handing her a key.

"Seven early enough for you?" she said.

"You gonna be able to function on only five hours of sleep?" Ian asked her.

"When you're an agent and a mom five hours is a luxury," she said grabbing her key. "See ya in the morning." He watched her go into her room and close the door behind her. Ian shook his head and went into his own room. He dropped his bag on the floor and stretched out on the bed. As exhausted as he was sleep would not come. He'd made progress with Anna but he still had a long way to go.

"I'm not giving up," he said to himself. "Just you wait Annabelle Graves. I'm not giving up till I win your heart." With this vow on his mind he drifted off the sleep.


End file.
